BTS | Table 4-23M: Average Fuel Efficiency of U.S. Passenger Cars and Light Trucks

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Table 4-23M: Average Fuel Efficiency of U.S. Passenger Cars and Light Trucks

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	1980	1985	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
Average U.S. passenger car fuel efficiency (kmpl) (calendar year)
Passenger car^a	6.8	7.4	8.6	9.0	8.9	8.8	8.8	9.0	9.0	9.1	9.2	9.1	9.3	9.4	9.4	9.5	9.6	(R) 9.4	9.5	U
Other 2-axle 4-tire vehicle	5.2	6.1	6.8	7.2	7.4	7.4	7.4	7.4	7.3	7.3	7.3	7.2	7.4	7.5	7.4	7.5	6.9	(R) 7.5	7.7	U
New vehicle fuel efficiency (kmpl)^b (model year)
Light-duty vehicle
Passenger car	10.3	11.7	11.9	12.1	11.9	12.1	12.0	12.2	12.1	12.2	12.2	12.0	12.1	12.2	12.3	12.5	(R) 12.5	(R) 12.9	12.8	13.3
Domestic	9.6	11.2	11.4	11.6	11.5	11.8	11.7	11.8	11.9	11.8	12.2	11.9	12.2	12.2	12.4	12.3	(R) 12.7	(R) 13.0	12.9	13.1
Imported	12.6	13.4	12.7	12.8	12.4	12.6	12.6	12.9	12.6	12.8	12.4	12.3	12.0	12.3	12.2	12.7	(R) 12.2	(R) 12.7	12.6	13.6
Light truck (<8,500 lbs GVWR)^c	7.9	8.8	8.8	9.1	8.8	8.9	8.8	8.7	8.8	8.8	9.0	8.9	9.1	8.9	9.1	9.2	(R) 9.1	(R) 9.4	9.6	9.8
CAFE standards (kmpl)^b (model year)
Passenger car	8.5	11.7	11.7	11.7	11.7	11.7	11.7	11.7	11.7	11.7	11.7	11.7	11.7	11.7	11.7	11.7	11.7	11.7	11.7	11.7
Light truck	^d6.8 / 6.0	8.3	8.5	8.6	8.6	8.7	8.7	8.8	8.8	8.8	8.8	8.8	8.8	8.8	8.8	8.8	8.8	8.9	9.2	9.4

KEY: CAFE = Corporate Average Fuel Economy; GVWR = gross vehicle weight rating; kmpl = kilometers per liter; R = revised; U = data are not available.

^a From 1980 to 1994, passenger car fuel efficiency includes motorcycles.

^bAssumes 55% city and 45% highway-miles. The source calculated average miles per gallon for light-duty vehicles by taking the reciprocal of the sales-weighted average of gallons per mile. This is called the harmonic average. These data were then converted to metric units.

^cBeginning with FY 1999, the total light truck fleet ceased to be categorized by either domestic or import fleets.

^d 2 Wheel Drive/4 Wheel Drive. No combined figure available for this year.

NOTES

The fuel efficiency figures for light duty vehicles represent the sales-weighted harmonic average of the combined passenger car and light truck fuel economies.

1.609344 kilometers = 1 mile.

3.785412 liters = 1 gallon.

SOURCES

Average U.S. passenger car fuel efficiency:

1980-94: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Highway Statistics Summary to 1995, FHWA-PL-97-009 (Washington, DC: July 1997), table VM-201A (Revised data obtained from Internet site http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/ohim/ohimstat.htm as of Aug. 2, 2001).

1995-2006: Ibid., Highway Statistics (Washington, DC: Annual issues), table VM-1.

New vehicle fuel efficiency (based on model year production) and CAFE standards:

1980-2007: U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Summary of Fuel Economy Performance (Washington, DC: 2005), Internet site http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/portal/site/nhtsa/menuitem.43ac99aefa80569eea57529cdba046a0/ as of Mar. 3, 2008.