The U.S. posted record gains in fuel efficiency last year, but it still falls short of what's needed to meet ever-approaching deadlines. Thanks to their preference for large vehicles, American automakers have fallen behind their competitors when it comes to getting more miles per gallon of gas.
According to the EPA's latest Automotive Trends Report, real-world fuel economy increased slightly to 26 miles per gallon in the 2022 model year. That's an increase of 0.6 mpg over last year, which the EPA says is apparently “more than double the annual rate of improvement in fuel economy” over the last nine years.
But while the agency is celebrating the incremental improvement, there is still a long way to go to reach the U.S.'s self-imposed fuel efficiency standards. By 2026, vehicles are expected to achieve an average of 49 miles per gallon. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) passed this rule back in 2022 and earlier this year proposed even higher standards for cars manufactured between 2027 and 2032.
By 2026, vehicles are expected to achieve an average of 49 miles per gallon
That leaves a seemingly vast gap between American ambitions and today's fuel efficiency. Fortunately, progress isn't as easy to track by comparing these goals with the data the EPA released in its report yesterday. Actual fuel economy data evaluated by EPA tends to be lower than the compliance data used in NHTSA rules.
The estimated real-world data is measured using laboratory tests that better reflect road conditions and people's driving style. According to Dan Becker, director of the Safe Climate Transport Campaign at the Center for Biological Diversity, actual fuel consumption figures tend to be about 25 percent lower than official compliance data.
With this in mind, car manufacturers still need to make further progress if they want to achieve 49 mpg within a few years. To meet this goal, fuel efficiency is expected to increase by 8 percent each year in the 2024-2025 model years.
American car companies – with the exception of Tesla – have to work particularly hard as they lag behind brands from other countries. Average fuel economy for Ford, General Motors and Jeep and Dodge parent company Stellantis last year was between about 21 and 23 mpg. They lag behind foreign automakers like Hyundai and Honda, which top the list at around 29 mpg.
A table from EPA's Automotive Trends Report shows changes in estimated real-world fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions from major manufacturers between 2017 and 2022. Image: EPA
There are clear culprits behind the inequality. The growing popularity of trucks and SUVs is reducing the fuel economy of American cars. This also has broader health and environmental consequences.
Oversized passenger cars use more gasoline than smaller cars, which also means they produce more exhaust pollution that worsens air quality and causes climate change. Larger electric vehicles are also problematic because they cause more particle pollution due to wear and tear on roads and tires.
Fortunately, the rate of emissions of planet-heating carbon dioxide from new vehicles still fell 3 percent to a record low last year, the EPA reports. But trucks and SUVs have been able to reverse some of this progress.
“The long-term trend away from sedans/wagon toward lower fuel consumption and higher CO2 emissions vehicle types has offset some of the fleet-wide benefits that would otherwise have been achieved through improvements within each vehicle type,” the EPA report said.
“American companies were stupid and short-sighted,” Becker says. “They would rather continue to sell gas guzzlers that make them money than switch to advanced technology vehicles that are the future.”
Aside from making electric vehicles, Becker points out that companies have been slow to adopt other fuel-saving technologies. For example, turbochargers can make cars more economical by using waste heat. However, this technology has only found its way into around 37 percent of 2022 model year vehicles from major manufacturers. Luxury automakers saw the highest adoption, with turbocharging in almost all BMW vehicles and 90 percent of the Mercedes fleet in 2022. Stellantis had the lowest adoption rate at just 13 percent.
When it comes to achieving fuel efficiency goals, “all car manufacturers have the technology to do it,” says Becker. “This is auto mechanics, not rocket science.”