Gas Prices Came Down and Bigger Cars Left the Showrooms

SANTA MONICA, CA--July 8, 2011: TrueCar.com , the authority on new car pricing, trends and forecasting, today provided actual fuel economy numbers from June light vehicle auto sales that indicate TrueMPG will increase to 21.6 MPG in June 2011 compared to 21.3 MPG in June 2010, but decreased from May 2011 at 21.9 MPG.

"Car buyers are no longer seeking smaller vehicles as they had in the previous few months as gas prices have recently declined," said Jesse Toprak, Vice President of Industry Trends and Insights at TrueCar.com. "That said, consumers looking for larger vehicles, such as large pickups, are choosing the more fuel-efficient six-cylinder versions that offer the same utility but better fuel economy."

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

According to TrueCar.com, the TrueMPGâ„¢ for vehicles sold by U.S. manufacturers averaged 21.6 MPG in June 2011, up from 21.3 MPG in June 2010. European manufacturers increased their average fuel economy for vehicles sold from 21.0 MPG to 21.5 MPG; Japanese manufacturers decreased their average fuel economy from last year at 23.2 MPG to 22.9 MPG; and South Korean manufacturers decreased their average fuel economy for vehicles from 25.2 MPG to 25.1 MPG.

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

TrueMPG is an easy-to-understand and objective way to comprehend monthly fuel economy averages by brand, manufacturer, origin and vehicle segments using Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ratings based on estimated and/or actual monthly automotive sales-weighted data.  TrueCar.com is seeking to provide transparency and truth in average fuel economy, providing an alternative view to Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) ratings that can be confusing and misleading. TrueMPG helps keep in perspective what each manufacturer's average miles per gallon per car sold using EPA's window sticker.

TrueMPG computes monthly average fuel economy by brand, manufacturer, origin and vehicle segments by using actual sales data or forecasted sales data for the current month. Calculations start at the trim level, taking into account EPA fuel economy data including engine size and drivetrain that affect a vehicle's MPG ratings; the sales share from each trim level is then calculated to create an average for each model.  Brand level data is calculated by the sales share of each model and the manufacturer data is then based on the share of each brand, providing an accurate and completely data driven picture of actual measured MPGs in the market place. TrueCar utilizes EPA's average fuel economy rating using 45 percent highway and 55 percent city driving behavior.