ANN ARBOR – Gas mileage of new vehicles sold in
the U.S. was up last month – its highest mark since last August, 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 May was 25.5 mpg, up from 25.2
mpg in April.
“The improvement likely reflects the
increased price of gasoline in May,” said Michael Sivak, a research professor at UMTRI.
Overall, fuel economy is up 5.4 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 eight months of this model year (October 2014 through May 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 March, the EDI remained at 0.82 (the lower
the value, the better) for the third month in a row. The index currently shows
emissions of greenhouse gases per driver of newly purchased vehicles are now
down 18 percent, overall, since October 2007.
