Average Fuel Economy for New Cars Sold in January Rises
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SEE ALSO: MPG 1997-2012 Vehicles
SANTA MONICA, Calif., Feb. 14, 2012; TrueCar.com, today provided actual fuel economy numbers from January light vehicle auto sales that indicate TrueMPG increased to 22.9 mpg in January 2012 compared to 22.0 mpg in January 2011, and increased from December 2011 at 22.2 mpg.
"The national gas price average reached its highest levels ever in January and consumers continue to snap up the most fuel efficient vehicles," said Jesse Toprak, Vice President of Market Intelligence at TrueCar.com. "If gas prices continue to increase, as expected over the spring and into the summer, we will continue to see record average fuel economy of newly purchased vehicles."
Below is how the top seven manufacturers fared comparing overall mpg, broken out by car and truck mpg:
| Average MPG | Average Car MPG | Average Truck MPG | |||||||
| Manufacturer | Jan-12 | Jan-11 | YoY | Jan-12 | Jan-11 | YoY | Jan-12 | Jan-11 | YoY |
| Chrysler | 19.5 | 18.8 | 0.7 | 22.6 | 21.6 | 0.9 | 18.1 | 17.9 | 0.2 |
| Ford | 21.9 | 20.4 | 1.4 | 26.9 | 25.3 | 1.5 | 19.7 | 18 | 1.7 |
| GM | 21.2 | 20.8 | 0.4 | 24.9 | 23.9 | 1.0 | 18.9 | 17.7 | 1.3 |
| Honda | 25.3 | 24.0 | 1.3 | 29.0 | 27.4 | 1.5 | 22.1 | 18.6 | 3.6 |
| Hyundai | 27.4 | 26.1 | 1.3 | 29.3 | 27.8 | 1.6 | 23.5 | 24.9 | -1.5 |
| Nissan | 23.6 | 23.2 | 0.4 | 26.5 | 25.6 | 0.9 | 19.9 | 19.1 | 0.8 |
| Toyota | 24.6 | 23.5 | 1.0 | 29.5 | 28.5 | 1.0 | 19.3 | 17.7 | 1.6 |
| Industry | 22.9 | 22.0 | 0.9 | 26.6 | 25.4 | 1.2 | 19.6 | 18.2 | 1.4 |
Below is a snapshot of a few vehicle segments and how they compare from January 2012 versus January 2011:
| Average Small Car MPG | Average Midsize Car MPG | Average Large Truck MPG | |||||||
| Manufacturer | Jan-12 | Jan-11 | YoY | Jan-12 | Jan-11 | YoY | Jan-12 | Jan-11 | YoY |
| Chrysler | 25.0 | 24.4 | 0.6 | 24.0 | 24.1 | 0.0 | 15.8 | 15.6 | 0.2 |
| Ford | 32.2 | 28.6 | 3.6 | 26.7 | 26.6 | 0.0 | 17.5 | 16.3 | 1.2 |
| GM | 30.3 | 27.5 | 2.8 | 25.6 | 25.4 | 0.2 | 17.0 | 17.2 | -0.2 |
| Honda | 32.5 | 30.0 | 2.4 | 25.8 | 25.6 | 0.2 | 17.1 | 16.9 | 0.2 |
| Hyundai | 31.2 | 29.9 | 1.3 | 27.5 | 26.6 | 0.9 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Mazda | 29.3 | 25.9 | 3.4 | 24.9 | 24.2 | 0.7 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Mitsubishi | 26.1 | 25.2 | 0.9 | 24.3 | 24.3 | 0.0 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Nissan | 31.3 | 28.5 | 2.8 | 25.2 | 24.7 | 0.5 | 14.2 | 14.2 | 0.0 |
| Subaru | 28.7 | 22.3 | 6.4 | 22.7 | 24.1 | -1.4 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Suzuki | N/A | N/A | N/A | 25.1 | 25.1 | 0.1 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Toyota | 33.9 | 33.3 | 0.6 | 27.9 | 25.3 | 2.7 | 15.5 | 15.7 | -0.2 |
| Volkswagen | 29.7 | 28.9 | 0.8 | 26.6 | 24.5 | 2.1 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Industry | 31.4 | 29.3 | 2.1 | 26.0 | 25.4 | 0.6 | 16.8 | 16.5 | 0.3 |
According to TrueCar.com, the TrueMPGTM for vehicles sold by U.S. manufacturers averaged 20.9 mpg in January 2012, up from 20.3 mpg in January 2011. European manufacturers increased their average fuel economy for vehicles sold from 21.3 mpg to 22.4 mpg; Japanese manufacturers increased their average fuel economy from January 2011 at 23.6 mpg to 24.6 mpg; and South Korean manufacturers increased their average fuel economy for vehicles from 26.1 mpg to 27.4 mpg.
TrueCar also compared TrueMPG by brand and manufacturer:
| TrueMPG by Brand | |||||
| Brand | Jan-12 | Dec-11 | Jan-11 | YoY | MoM |
| smart | 35.8 | 36.2 | 36.3 | -0.6 | -0.4 |
| Fiat | 32.2 | 31.8 | N/A | N/A | 0.4 |
| MINI | 29.9 | 30.0 | 30.4 | -0.5 | -0.1 |
| Hyundai | 27.7 | 27.4 | 26.6 | 1.1 | 0.3 |
| Kia | 27.1 | 26.5 | 25.5 | 1.6 | 0.6 |
| Volkswagen | 26.9 | 27.7 | 26.3 | 0.6 | -0.8 |
| Scion | 26.8 | 26.5 | 25.6 | 1.2 | 0.3 |
| Honda | 25.8 | 24.9 | 24.6 | 1.3 | 1.0 |
| Mazda | 25.8 | 24.5 | 23.4 | 2.4 | 1.2 |
| Mitsubishi | 25.0 | 25.0 | 24.3 | 0.7 | -0.1 |
| Toyota | 24.8 | 24.3 | 23.9 | 1.0 | 0.5 |
| Subaru | 24.3 | 23.1 | 23.4 | 1.0 | 1.2 |
| Nissan | 24.0 | 23.4 | 23.7 | 0.3 | 0.6 |
| Suzuki | 23.5 | 24.0 | 23.5 | 0.0 | -0.5 |
| Buick | 22.6 | 21.8 | 20.4 | 2.2 | 0.8 |
| Audi | 22.0 | 22.2 | 22.2 | -0.2 | -0.2 |
| Ford | 21.9 | 21.2 | 20.5 | 1.4 | 0.7 |
| Lexus | 21.9 | 22.2 | 20.9 | 1.0 | -0.3 |
| Chevrolet | 21.8 | 20.9 | 21.6 | 0.3 | 0.9 |
| Chrysler | 21.6 | 21.4 | 20.1 | 1.5 | 0.2 |
| Saab | 21.5 | 21.4 | 23.2 | -1.7 | 0.1 |
| Volvo | 21.2 | 20.8 | 20.4 | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| Acura | 21.1 | 20.9 | 20.0 | 1.0 | 0.2 |
| BMW | 20.9 | 20.6 | 20.6 | 0.3 | 0.2 |
| Mercedes-Benz | 20.5 | 19.3 | 18.3 | 2.1 | 1.1 |
| Dodge | 20.4 | 20.2 | 20.0 | 0.4 | 0.2 |
| Lincoln | 20.2 | 20.1 | 19.3 | 0.8 | 0.0 |
| Porsche | 19.8 | 19.6 | 21.0 | -1.2 | 0.2 |
| Infiniti | 19.8 | 19.8 | 20.0 | -0.2 | -0.1 |
| GMC | 19.0 | 18.5 | 19.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 |
| Jeep | 18.9 | 18.8 | 18.6 | 0.3 | 0.1 |
| Cadillac | 18.8 | 18.7 | 18.9 | -0.1 | 0.1 |
| Jaguar | 17.9 | 18.0 | 18.1 | -0.1 | -0.1 |
| Ram | 15.8 | 15.8 | 15.6 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
| Land Rover | 15.3 | 15.0 | 14.1 | 1.2 | 0.4 |
| Industry | 22.9 | 22.2 | 22.0 | 0.9 | 0.7 |
| TrueMPG by Manufacturer | |||||||
| Manufacturer | Large Car | Large SUV | Large Truck | Luxury Car | Luxury Sport Car | Luxury SUV | Midsize Car |
| BMW | N/A | N/A | N/A | 21.9 | 17.8 | 19.5 | N/A |
| Chrysler | 20.6 | 18.1 | 15.8 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 24.0 |
| Daimler | N/A | N/A | N/A | 22.6 | 19.5 | 18.0 | N/A |
| Ford | 20.5 | 15.6 | 17.5 | 21.8 | N/A | 18.7 | 26.7 |
| GM | 22.4 | 18.0 | 17.0 | 20.4 | 19.3 | 18.1 | 25.6 |
| Honda | N/A | N/A | 17.1 | 23.9 | N/A | 18.4 | 25.8 |
| Hyundai/Kia | N/A | N/A | N/A | 21.4 | N/A | N/A | 27.5 |
| Land Rover/Jaguar | N/A | N/A | N/A | 17.9 | 18.2 | 15.3 | N/A |
| Mazda | N/A | 18.8 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 24.9 |
| Mitsubishi | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 24.3 |
| Nissan | N/A | 14.8 | 14.2 | 21.6 | 21.2 | 17.3 | 25.2 |
| Porsche | N/A | N/A | N/A | 20.0 | 20.8 | 19.0 | N/A |
| Saab | N/A | N/A | N/A | 21.7 | N/A | 20.6 | N/A |
| Subaru | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 22.7 |
| Suzuki | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 25.1 |
| Toyota | 23.1 | 15.3 | 15.5 | 24.5 | 21.6 | 19.9 | 27.9 |
| Volkswagen | N/A | N/A | N/A | 23.7 | 21.5 | 20.3 | 26.6 |
| Volvo | N/A | N/A | N/A | 22.0 | 23.5 | 19.1 | N/A |
| Industry | 21.7 | 17.6 | 16.8 | 22.4 | 20.8 | 18.4 | 26.0 |
| TrueMPG by Manufacturer | |||||||
| Manufacturer | Midsize SUV | Minivan | Small Car | Small SUV | Small Truck | Sport Car | Subcompact Car |
| BMW | N/A | N/A | N/A | 28.2 | N/A | 31.1 | N/A |
| Chrysler | 18.4 | 19.8 | 25.0 | 20.0 | N/A | 19.3 | 32.2 |
| Daimler | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 35.8 |
| Ford | 22.0 | N/A | 32.2 | 23.6 | 18.8 | 21.9 | 33.1 |
| GM | 23.9 | N/A | 30.3 | N/A | 19.5 | 20.7 | 29.3 |
| Honda | 23.1 | 21.4 | 32.5 | 21.0 | N/A | N/A | 30.4 |
| Hyundai/Kia | 22.6 | 20.6 | 31.2 | 25.3 | N/A | 28.0 | 32.0 |
| Land Rover/Jaguar | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Mazda | 22.6 | 23.7 | 29.3 | 22.3 | N/A | 23.3 | 30.1 |
| Mitsubishi | 17.1 | N/A | 26.1 | 25.5 | N/A | 22.4 | N/A |
| Nissan | 21.4 | 19.9 | 31.3 | 28.3 | 16.9 | 20.8 | N/A |
| Porsche | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Saab | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Subaru | 17.9 | N/A | 28.7 | 23.3 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Suzuki | N/A | N/A | N/A | 21.0 | 16.8 | N/A | 26.0 |
| Toyota | 21.3 | 20.0 | 33.9 | N/A | 18.5 | N/A | 29.8 |
| Volkswagen | 20.3 | 19.9 | 29.7 | 23.6 | N/A | 25.2 | 24.8 |
| Volvo | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Industry | 21.7 | 20.3 | 31.4 | 23.0 | 18.4 | 22.7 | 30.7 |
TrueMPGTM 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. TrueMPGTM helps keep in perspective what each manufacturer’s average miles per gallon per car sold using EPA’s window sticker.