Fuel Economy Inching Upward in the US, Diesels Leading Charge

Average fuel economy throughout the US is finally inching upward. Cars in the US today are getting an average 14% better fuel economy than 2008. These data were calculated in a study done at the University of Michigan. 

The weighted average fuel economy among all 2012 light-duty vehicles, including cars, pickups and vans, is 21.5mpg compared to 18.9mpg in 2008. That figures in actual vehicle sales of new cars in those segments to calculate average economy. Technically, if the average is calculated purely, the average is 22.5mpg in 2012. 

The researchers also looked at granular data for each vehicle class. Fuel economy grew 2.8mpg for cars and  1.6mpg for light trucks.

The biggest growth for any type of vehicle that the researchers look at was from diesels, which grew 9.8mpg. This is likely due to more use of diesels in cars in the US like those from BMW, Mercedes and Volkswagen. 

Source: Detriot Bureau