Cars and Drivers

Fuel Economy Rating Slips in 2015

Paul Ausick

Published: January 7, 2016 1:35 pm

Last Updated: January 13, 2020 3:18 pm

The average fuel-economy rating for new vehicles sold in the United States in 2015 was 25.3 miles per gallon (mpg), down from an average of 25.4 in 2014. For the month of December, the average fuel-economy rating averaged 24.9 mpg, down 0.2 compared with an upwardly revised November rating of 25.1.

Compared with October 2007, fuel economy ratings on new cars sold has improved by 4.8 mpg, or more than 24%.

While the window sticker average is nearly 5 mpg higher than when the data were first collected, the average is still 0.9 mpg below its all-time high of 25.8 mpg set in August 2014. When gasoline prices started dropping in the United states, consumers purchased more light trucks, sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and crossovers, which get lower mpg ratings and drive down the average.

The data are based on the average sales-weighted fuel-economy rating printed on a new car’s window sticker and are compiled by Michael Sivak and Brandon Schoettle of the University of Michigan’s Transportation Research Institute.

The sales-weighted unadjusted Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) performance rating averaged 31.0 mpg in December, down 0.2 month over month and up 6.3 since October 2007. These values are not directly comparable to the window-sticker ratings because these are adjusted by the EPA and used to derive the window-sticker ratings.

Although fuel-economy ratings fell in 2015, it’s worth noting that major improvements in fuel economy for pickups and SUVs have kept the ratings slide relative small. And just as high prices for gasoline are the cure for high prices, low prices are the cure for low prices. Looking ahead through the end of 2016, yearly national gasoline prices are expected to remain near or below 2015 levels.

That won’t last forever, mostly because it can’t. And when prices rise to new levels, better fuel-economy will come back into style.