U.S. Fuel Economy Reaches All-Time High

In President Obama’s first term, he called on the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Transportation to take action to double fuel economy standards by 2025 and cut vehicle greenhouse gas emissions in half. These actions combat climate change and help American families save money – more than $8,000 in fuel costs for each car by 2025.

In fact, over the duration of the program, Americans will save a total of $1.7 trillion in fuel costs and reduce oil consumption by more than 2 million barrels per day. And we are on track to roughly double fuel economy by 2025. This proves once again that addressing climate change can go hand in hand with strong economic growth. 

Last year marked an important milestone in the Administration’s effort to fight climate change. According to EPA’s new Fuel Economy Trends Report, new vehicles in 2013 achieved their highest fuel economy of all time. Model year 2013 vehicles reached an average of 24.1 miles per gallon – a 0.5-mile-per-gallon increase over the previous year and an increase of nearly 5 miles – or 25 percent – per gallon since 2004. Fuel economy has now increased in eight of the last nine years, and our average carbon emissions last year hit a record low of 369 grams per mile in model year 2013.

Thanks to American ingenuity and the strength of the auto industry, in the last five years, an array of vehicles with higher fuel economy and lower emissions have arrived on the market. Consumers, in effect, are empowered with more options to choose from between a more diverse range of technology packages on conventional gasoline vehicles, as well as more advanced technology and alternative-fueled vehicles.

For consumers looking to make smart choices, the most cost-effective decisions are also the most climate-friendly.