U.S. Fuel Economy Up in July

The WardsAuto Fuel Economy Index shows U.S. light-vehicle sales averaged 25.5 mpg (9.2 L/100 km) in July, a 0.7% increase over year-ago.

But while the score improved from same-month 2015, the market continued to shift away from the segments with the highest average fuel economy to those with lower ratings.

Cars made up less than 40% of LV sales for only the second time in the index’s history (beginning Q4 2007), with a 39.4% share versus 43.5% in same-month 2015. However, the downturn in share was offset by an uptick in average fuel economy, which rose to a record 30.3 mpg (7.8 L/100 km).

While all four car segments lost share from last year, three improved their FEI ratings.

Midsize-car sales took the greatest market-share hit as some consumers turned to CUVs. Those left in the midsize market helped the segment hit a best-ever rating of 30.2 mpg (7.8 L/100 km), up 2.5% from year-ago.

Small and luxury cars averaged 31.7 mpg (7.4 L/100 km) and 28.2 mpg (8.3 L/100 km), respectively. Only large cars rated below prior-year at 22.2 mpg (10.6 L/100 km) but accounted for just 1.0% of light-vehicle sales.

Light trucks tracked by the index ticked up to a record 22.2 mpg (10.6 L/100 km) FEI rating, 1.9% higher than like-2015, and accounted for 60.6% of July sales. Only CUVs and SUVs scored higher than year-ago.

CUVs accounted for 33.4% of LV deliveries and averaged 24.5 mpg (9.6 L/100 km), up 2.8% from prior-year. SUVs gained 1.2% on the index to hit 18.7 mpg (12.6 L/100 km) in July.

Vans averaged 20.4 mpg (11.5 L/100 km), slipping just 0.1% from last year. Pickups performed the worst of any segment, falling 1.2% to 18.4 mpg (12.8 L/100 km).

The improvement seen in July helped bring the year-to-date average out of the red. The WardsAuto Fuel Economy Index rating for the first seven months of this year was 25.4 mpg (9.3 L/100 km), up 0.1% from same-period 2015.

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