UMTRI: average fuel economy of new LDVs sold in US in March up 20% from Oct 2007
04 April 2012
The average sales-weighted fuel economy of new vehicles sold in the US in March 2012 was 24.1 mpg (9.76 L/100 km)—up 4.0 mpg or 20% from the value in October 2007,, according to calculations by researchers at the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI). October 2007 was the first month of their monitoring).
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| Average sales-weighted fuel economy. Source: UMTRI. Click to enlarge. |
The unadjusted CAFE performance in March was 29.6 mpg (7.95 L/100 km), an improvement of 20% since October 2007.
The UMTRI Eco-Driving Index (EDI)—an index that estimates the average monthly emissions generated by an individual US driver—stood at 0.83 in January 2012 (an improvement of 17% since October 2007). The EDI takes into account both vehicle fuel economy and distance driven (the latter relying on data that are published with a two-month lag).
I bet there is a significant correlation to the price of gasoline. Just plot the price of gasoline in the U.S. during the same period and you would see.
The Chevy Cruze was a big seller last year, it gets good mileage. When gasoline is $4 per gallon people think mileage, when it goes back down towards $3 per gallon, not so much.
Posted by: SJC | 04 April 2012 at 10:30 AM
Good observations SJC.
When fuel consumption goes down, fuel tax revenues probably go down too. Eventually, governments will have to raise fuel taxes to regain the same level of revenues. Higher fuel cost would further reduce consumption and fuels taxes should be raised again. The snowball effect could bring fuel price to $5+/gal within 24 months or so.
Posted by: HarveyD | 04 April 2012 at 02:49 PM