(September 10, 2012) SANTA MONICA, Calif. — TrueCar.com today provided actual fuel economy numbers from August light vehicle auto sales that indicate mileage increased to 23.3 mpg in August compared to 21.7 mpg in August 2011, and increased two-tenths of a gallon from July at 23.1 mpg.

Just four years ago in August 2008, TrueMPG was at 20.3 mpg.

"Relatively higher gas prices and attractive incentives helped improve the market share of small cars and small SUVs, resulting in an improved overall TrueMPG for the industry," said Jesse Toprak, vice president of Market Intelligence at TrueCar.com. "Hyundai wins the most improved medal in August in comparison to a year ago with Ford also posting significant gains especially due to higher EcoBoost engine." 

According to TrueCar.com, the TrueMPG for vehicles sold by U.S. manufacturers averaged 21.2 MPG in August 2012, up from 20.1 MPG in August 2011. European manufacturers increased their average fuel economy for vehicles sold from 21.3 MPG to 23.6 MPG; Japanese manufacturers increased their average fuel economy from last year at 23.3 MPG to 24.6 MPG; and South Korean manufacturers increased their average fuel economy for vehicles from 26.2 MPG to 28.1 MPG.

Below is a snapshot of a few vehicle segments and how they compare from August 2012 versus August 2011: