Fuel Economy Rating Unchanged in February

The average fuel-economy rating for new vehicles sold in the United States in February 2016 was 25.2 miles per gallon (mpg), flat with January’s average. For all of 2015, the average fuel-economy rating for new vehicles sold was 25.3 mpg, down from 25.4 mpg in 2014.

Compared with October 2007, fuel economy ratings on new cars sold has improved by 5 mpg, or more than 24%.

While the window sticker average is 5 mpg higher than when the data were first collected, the average is still 0.7 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 is compiled by Michael Sivak and Brandon Schoettle of the University of Michigan’s Transportation Research Institute.
[nativounit]
The sales-weighted unadjusted Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) performance rating averaged 31.3 miles per gallon in January, up 0.3 mpg month over month and a 6.6 mpg improvement 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.

Auto sales in the month of February rose 6.8% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 17.53 million vehicles, compared with a SAAR of 16.39 million in February 2015. The past month was the best February for new vehicle sales since 2000. Ford sales jumped 20% last month, with SUV and pickup truck sales leading the way.

Americans continue to buy less fuel-efficient SUVs and pickups, and barring some gargantuan event, pump prices are not expected to rise much, if at all, this year.