Fuel Economy Index Shows Slow Improvement in April
Average car fuel economy grew 0.1%, and light trucks improved 2.2%.
The WardsAuto Fuel Economy Index shows the average fuel economy of light vehicles sold in the U.S. in April was 25.5 mpg (9.2 L/100 km), up 0.1% from year-ago.
The national average gasoline price was $2.528, 3.7% higher than in March and 14.1% above year-ago.
Growing gas prices could have been a significant factor in the index share of standard gasoline models falling slightly to 96.2% from 96.8% in same-month 2016. Share of electric vehicles stayed flat from prior-year, and plug-in hybrids and regular hybrids showed small upticks.
Cars sold in the month averaged 30.1 mpg (7.8 L/100 km), up 0.1% from year-ago. Domestically built cars slipped 0.2%, while imports rated 1.4% above year-ago.
Midsize cars were the only car segment to post a year-over-year gain, up just 0.7%. Luxury models took the largest downturn, 1.3%.
Light trucks scored 22.4 mpg (10.5 L/100 km) on the index, a 2.2% gain on prior-year. The average rating for domestics increased 2.0%, and imported models improved 1.8%.
CUVs reached a best-ever 25.0 mpg (9.4 L/100 km) with a 2.6% gain from April 2016. Penetration of electrics and hybrids in the segment rose from year-ago.
Hyundai’s index score rose 1.7% to a record-high 28.9 mpg (8.2 L/100 km), boosted in large part by sales of the Ioniq hybrid.
Subaru also hit a new high point, 27.3 mpg (8.6 L/100 km), lifted 1.3% by a greater concentration of small car models.
Jaguar Land Rover recorded the biggest year-over-year improvement of tracked companies in April, jumping 6.4% with a higher share of diesel variants and CUVs over SUVs.
Mazda showed the greatest decline from prior-year, down 6.5%, due to shift to CUVs from small cars. With no electrified powertrain options, the automaker’s high rating is reliant on sales of its small models, but the light-vehicle market has been trending toward CUVs.
Mitsubishi was the highest rated automaker (excluding electric-only Tesla) at 29.6 mpg (7.9 L/100 km). Mitsubishi also depends on small vehicle size to reach a high index score.
The industrywide index rating for the first four months of 2017 was 25.4 mpg (9.3 L/100 km) up 0.4% from same-period 2016.
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