ANN ARBOR – Gas
mileage of new vehicles sold in the United States slipped last month, according
to researchers at the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute.
Average fuel
economy (window-sticker values) of cars, light trucks, vans and SUVs purchased
in April was 25.2 mpg, down from 25.4 mpg in March.
“This
drop likely reflects the increased proportion of pickup trucks and SUVs in the
sales mix,” said Michael Sivak, a research professor at UMTRI.
Fuel economy
is now down 0.6 mpg from the peak reached in August 2014.
Overall,
fuel economy is up 5.1 mpg from October 2007, the first full month of
monitoring by Sivak and colleague Brandon Schoettle.
However, the
average vehicle fuel economy during the first seven months of this model year
(October 2014 through April 2015) – 25.3 mpg – has stayed the same as during the
preceding model year (October 2013 through September 2014).
In addition
to average fuel economy, Sivak and Schoettle issued a monthly update of their
national Eco-Driving Index, which estimates the average monthly emissions
generated by an individual U.S. driver. The EDI takes into account both the
fuel used per distance driven and the amount of driving – the latter relying on
data that are published with a two-month lag.
During
February, the EDI remained at 0.82 (the lower the value, the better) for the
second straight month. The index currently shows emissions of greenhouse gases
per driver of newly purchased vehicles are now down 18 percent, overall, since
October 2007.
