New Car Average Fuel Economy Drops to 24.6 MPG
The average fuel economy of new cars sold in the U.S. last month dropped to 24.6 MPG, down 0.3 MPG from August.
The average sales-weighted fuel economy was calculated by University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute’s researchers Michael Sivak and Brandon Shoettle, which has been monitoring the data since October 2007. The value is calculated from the monthly sales of individual models of light-duty vehicles and the combined city/highway fuel-economy ratings published in the EPA Fuel Economy Guide.
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August was an all-time high of 24.9 MPG and the slight decrease in September is mostly caused by the continuing drop of gasoline prices. On the whole, fuel economy is up 4.5 MPG compared to when data was first collected in October 2007. As for the average fuel economy of model year 2013 vehicles, that’s at 24.7 MPG, which is an increase of 1.2 MPG compared to 2012 model year vehicles.
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Jason Siu began his career in automotive journalism in 2003 with Modified Magazine, a property previously held by VerticalScope. As the West Coast Editor, he played a pivotal role while also extending his expertise to Modified Luxury & Exotics and Modified Mustangs. Beyond his editorial work, Jason authored two notable Cartech books. His tenure at AutoGuide.com saw him immersed in the daily news cycle, yet his passion for hands-on evaluation led him to focus on testing and product reviews, offering well-rounded recommendations to AutoGuide readers. Currently, as the Content Director for VerticalScope, Jason spearheads the content strategy for an array of online publications, a role that has him at the helm of ensuring quality and consistency across the board.
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