Average fuel economy increases nearly one MPG in 2012, TrueCar finds
(January 9, 2013) SANTA MONICA, Calif. — TrueCar today provided actual economy numbers from new car sales indicating TrueMPG increased to 23.1 mpg in 2012 compared to 22.3 mpg in 2011. In December, light vehicle auto sales show TrueMPG increased to 23.0 mpg from 22.6 mpg in December 2011, and decreased from November 2012 at 23.2 mpg.
"Consumers' never ending appetite for more fuel efficient vehicles continued to propel manufacturers to further improve their MPG figures in 2012 with a wider selection of smaller vehicles and less fuel-thirsty powertrains," said Jesse Toprak, Senior Analyst for TrueCar.
"An increase of 0.8 miles per gallon in fuel economy translates into a reduction in fuel consumption of 348 million gallons or a savings of about $1.2 billion in fuel annually in the US."
Below is how the top eight manufacturers fared in 2012 versus 2011 with comparing overall mpg, broken out by car and truck mpg:
Average MPG |
Average Car MPG |
Average Truck MPG |
|||||||
Manufacturer |
2012 |
2011 |
Change |
2012 |
2011 |
Change |
2012 |
2011 |
Change |
Chrysler |
19.9 |
19.3 |
0.6 |
23.2 |
22.5 |
0.7 |
18.3 |
18.0 |
0.3 |
Ford |
22.2 |
21.5 |
0.7 |
27.1 |
26.0 |
1.2 |
19.7 |
19.3 |
0.4 |
GM |
21.3 |
20.8 |
0.5 |
25.4 |
24.5 |
0.9 |
18.9 |
18.8 |
0.2 |
Honda |
25.3 |
24.2 |
1.1 |
28.6 |
27.7 |
0.9 |
22.4 |
21.0 |
1.4 |
Hyundai/Kia |
27.1 |
26.3 |
0.7 |
28.7 |
28.2 |
0.5 |
23.2 |
23.1 |
0.1 |
Nissan |
23.7 |
23.3 |
0.4 |
27.0 |
26.2 |
0.8 |
20.0 |
19.9 |
0.2 |
Toyota |
24.7 |
23.6 |
1.1 |
30.3 |
28.3 |
2.0 |
19.4 |
19.3 |
0.1 |
Volkswagen |
26.5 |
26.1 |
0.4 |
27.6 |
27.6 |
0.1 |
21.9 |
21.3 |
0.6 |
Industry |
23.1 |
22.3 |
0.8 |
27.1 |
25.9 |
1.2 |
19.7 |
19.4 |
0.3 |
Below is how the top eight manufacturers fared in December 2012 versus December 2011 comparing overall mpg, broken out by car and truck mpg:
Average MPG |
Average Car MPG |
Average Truck MPG |
|||||||
Manufacturer |
Dec-12 |
Dec-11 |
Change |
Dec-12 |
Dec-11 |
Change |
Dec-12 |
Dec-11 |
Change |
Chrysler |
20.0 |
19.7 |
0.3 |
23.6 |
23.1 |
0.5 |
18.3 |
18.2 |
0.1 |
Ford |
22.4 |
21.8 |
0.7 |
29.1 |
27.6 |
1.5 |
19.6 |
19.5 |
0.1 |
GM |
20.7 |
20.5 |
0.2 |
25.6 |
25.4 |
0.3 |
18.6 |
18.6 |
0.0 |
Honda |
25.8 |
25.1 |
0.7 |
29.7 |
29.2 |
0.5 |
22.3 |
21.8 |
0.4 |
Hyundai/Kia |
26.9 |
26.8 |
0.1 |
28.6 |
28.6 |
0.0 |
23.0 |
23.2 |
-0.1 |
Nissan |
24.1 |
23.5 |
0.5 |
28.6 |
27.3 |
1.2 |
20.1 |
19.8 |
0.3 |
Toyota |
24.2 |
24.1 |
0.1 |
29.9 |
29.8 |
0.2 |
19.3 |
19.3 |
0.0 |
Volkswagen |
26.1 |
26.0 |
0.1 |
27.2 |
27.1 |
0.1 |
22.1 |
21.8 |
0.2 |
Industry |
23.0 |
22.6 |
0.4 |
27.5 |
27.0 |
0.5 |
19.6 |
19.5 |
0.2 |
According to TrueCar.com, the TrueMPG for vehicles sold by U.S. manufacturers averaged 21.2 mpg in 2012, up from 20.7 mpg in 2011. European manufacturers increased their average fuel economy for vehicles sold from 22.1 mpg to 23.3 mpg; Japanese manufacturers increased their average fuel economy from last year at 23.7 mpg to 24.8 mpg; and South Korean manufacturers increased their average fuel economy for vehicles from 26.3 mpg to 27.1 mpg.
Below is a snapshot of a few vehicle segments and how they compare from 2012 with 2011:
Average Small Car TrueMPG |
Average Midsize Car TrueMPG |
Average Large Truck TrueMPG |
|||||||
Manufacturer |
2012 |
2011 |
Change |
2012 |
2011 |
Change |
2012 |
2011 |
Change |
Chrysler |
29.2 |
24.9 |
4.3 |
24.0 |
24.1 |
-2.7 |
15.8 |
15.6 |
0.2 |
Ford |
32.6 |
31.1 |
1.5 |
27.3 |
26.6 |
1.8 |
17.4 |
17.2 |
0.2 |
GM |
30.3 |
29.3 |
1.0 |
26.1 |
25.4 |
0.7 |
17.1 |
17.0 |
0.0 |
Honda |
32.0 |
31.2 |
0.8 |
26.6 |
25.6 |
1.0 |
17.2 |
16.9 |
0.3 |
Hyundai |
30.6 |
30.3 |
0.4 |
27.8 |
27.3 |
0.5 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
Mazda |
30.2 |
26.4 |
3.7 |
24.8 |
24.7 |
0.1 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
Mitsubishi |
25.2 |
25.9 |
-0.7 |
24.3 |
24.3 |
0.0 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
Nissan |
31.2 |
30.5 |
0.7 |
26.3 |
25.1 |
1.2 |
14.3 |
14.3 |
0.0 |
Subaru |
27.7 |
22.2 |
5.5 |
24.9 |
24.2 |
0.6 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
Suzuki |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
25.1 |
25.2 |
-0.1 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
Toyota |
34.8 |
33.3 |
1.5 |
28.4 |
25.6 |
2.8 |
15.5 |
15.7 |
-0.2 |
Volkswagen |
30.7 |
30.9 |
-0.2 |
28.9 |
26.5 |
2.4 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
Industry |
31.7 |
30.3 |
1.4 |
26.7 |
25.6 |
1.1 |
16.8 |
16.7 |
0.1 |