News Releases from Headquarters

Fuel Economy Reaches New Record, Manufacturers Meet Greenhouse Gas Standards, EPA Report Shows

Agency Releases New Automotive Trends Report

WASHINGTON -- Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a new annual report, entitled the Automotive Trends Report, which provides the public with a single source of information about new light-duty vehicle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, fuel economy, technology data, and auto manufacturers' performance in meeting the agency’s GHG emissions standards. The report shows that auto manufacturers continue increasing fuel economy and reducing pollution through innovation.

“Today’s report shows that while the auto industry continues to increase fuel economy, there are legitimate concerns about the ability to cost-effectively achieve the Obama Administration’s standards in the near future,” said EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler. “EPA and DOT will have those concerns in mind as we move forward with our Safe Affordable Fuel Efficient Vehicles rule, which would allow the industry to meet aggressive yet attainable standards, reduce the price of new vehicles, and help more Americans purchase cleaner, safer, and more efficient vehicles.”

Fuel economy for the U.S. fleet continues to improve. Model Year (MY) 2017 vehicle fuel economy was 24.9 miles per gallon, slightly higher than MY 2016, and a record high overall. Since MY 2004, fuel economy and CO2 emissions have improved in eleven out of thirteen years.
 
The report also assesses compliance performance for individual automakers and for the U.S. fleet as a whole with the greenhouse gas emissions standards for light-duty vehicles. This year’s report shows all manufacturers are in compliance with the standards. Most large manufacturers used banked credits, along with technology improvements, to maintain compliance in model year 2017. Only three large manufacturers complied based on the technology levels of their vehicles alone.

Key Highlights

• Due to a combination of technology, innovation and regulatory flexibility, the U.S. experienced record high fuel economy and record low GHG emissions in 2017.
• Progress on GHG emissions while providing choices for American consumers as sport utility vehicles reached record high market share, while also achieving record high fuel economy.
• The average real-world CO2 emission rate for all new personal vehicles fell by three grams per mile to 357 grams per mile, the lowest level ever measured.

To read the full Automotive Trends Report, please visit: https://19january2021snapshot.epa.gov/automotive-trends/highlights-automotive-trends-report

Background

This annual report is part of the EPA’s commitment to providing the public with transparent information about new light-duty vehicle GHG emissions, fuel economy, technology data, and auto manufacturers' performance in meeting the agency’s GHG emissions standards. This report includes content previously published in two separate reports, the Light-Duty Automotive Technology, Carbon Dioxide Emissions, and Fuel Economy Trends Report, and the GHG Manufacturer Performance Report. These reports have now been combined to provide a more comprehensive analysis.

EPA has collected data on every new light-duty vehicle model sold in the United States since 1975. Data is collected to support several national programs, including EPA criteria pollutant and GHG standards, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards, and vehicle Fuel Economy and Environment labels.