(January 13, 2012) SANTA MONICA, Calif. — TrueCar.com today provided actual economy numbers from new car sales indicating TrueMPG will increase to 22.2 mpg in 2011 compared to 21.7 mpg in 2010. 

In December, light vehicle auto sales show TrueMPG) increased to 22.2 mpg from 21.7 mpg in December 2010, and decreased from November 2011 at 22.3 mpg.

"Automakers understand that fuel economy is an important value proposition for consumers," said Jesse Toprak, Vice President of Industry Trends and Insights at TrueCar.com. "It may seem insignificant, but an increase of a half a mile per gallon in fuel economy translates to a reduction in fuel consumption of 214 million gallons or a savings of about $722 million in fuel annually in the U.S."

Below is how the top seven manufacturers fared in 2011 comparing overall mpg, broken out by car and truck mpg:

According to TrueCar.com, the TrueMPG for vehicles sold by U.S. manufacturers averaged 20.6 mpg in 2011, up from 20.1 mpg in 2010. European manufacturers increased their average fuel economy for vehicles sold from 21.0 mpg to 21.9 mpg; Japanese manufacturers increased their average fuel economy from last year at 23.2 mpg to 23.7 mpg; and South Korean manufacturers increased their average fuel economy for vehicles from 25.3 mpg to 26.6 mpg.

Below is a snapshot of a few vehicle segments and how they compare from 2011 versus 2010: