Americans using less fuel
US report finds average fuel consumption down 12 per cent since 2005US CAFE standards are imposing stringent restrictions on fuel consumption in the next few years, but already, automotive analyst Edmunds reports modest improvements in American fuel use since 2005.
With the Obama administration pressing ahead to impose harsher fuel consumption restrictions on the US vehicle fleet -- it wants the petrol average down to 6.9L/100km (that's 34.1 mpg in their talk) by 2016 -- a study by industry analyst Edmunds has found averages have been dropping since 2005 anyway. Based on the five biggest selling categories of vehicle, the overall reduction has been to the tune of 12 per cent.
Edmunds analysts conceded from the outset that a survey using a criterion such as fuel economy, varying as much as it does from one subsector to the next, would be no simple matter. So they started by dividing the fleet into broad vehicle categories and narrowing their focus to cover the top five of these, which it says account for around two thirds of annual vehicle sales: midsize, compact and luxury cars; midsize SUVs and large trucks.
It attributes the result to two trends. One was the decline in large truck sales, taking that segment from top spot at 14.4 percent of the market in 2005 to fourth place this year on 10.4 percent, with a simultaneous rise in midsize (up from 14.3 to 17.8) and compact cars (up from 13.1 to 16.6).
More important, however, was real fuel economy improvements across the board. The most dramatic shift here was among midsize SUVs, which have gone from an average 16.1L/100km five years ago to 12.6 -- an improvement of 27.4 per cent. Large trucks have improved around 10 percent, from 16.2L/100km to 14.7. Lesser vehicles showed improvement, too: large and luxury cars from 13.2L/100km to 11.8; midsize cars from 11.1 to 10.7 and compact cars from 10.2 to 9.2.
Edmunds concluded it's safe to anticipate an acceleration in improvement during coming years, with an increase in the popularity of conventional hybrids like Toyota's Prius, then plug-in hybrids like GM's Volt (pictured) and, in the longer term, battery-electric vehicles.
Read the latest Carsales Network news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at www.carsales.mobi
Please see our Editorial Guidelines & Code of Ethics (including for more information about sponsored content and paid events). The information published on this website is of a general nature only and doesn’t consider your particular circumstances or needs.
