ANN ARBOR – Gas
mileage of new vehicles sold in the U.S. 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 June was 25.4 mpg, down from 25.5 mpg in May.
“The
decline likely reflects the increased sales of light trucks and SUVs in
June,” said Michael Sivak, a research professor at UMTRI.
Overall,
fuel economy is up 5.3 mpg from October 2007, the first full month of
monitoring by Sivak and colleague Brandon Schoettle.
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
April, the EDI rose to 0.85 (the lower the value, the better) – its worst mark
since December 2011. However, the index currently shows emissions of greenhouse
gases per driver of newly purchased vehicles are still down 15 percent,
overall, since October 2007.
By
comparison, both the EDI (0.78) and mpg (25.8) were at peak levels in August
2014.
