In 1975, only three percent of all new cars had a fuel economy above 25 miles per gallon (mpg), but by 2014, 73% did. Great improvements were made in the fuel economy of cars from 1975 to 1985, so that by 1985 most of the cars produced had a fuel economy above 20 mpg. Light truck fuel economy showed an improvement during that same time period, so that by 1985 most light trucks produced had a fuel economy above 15 mpg. Due to more recent improvements, 40% of cars produced in 2014 have a fuel economy above 30 mpg and half of light trucks were over 20 mpg.

Share of Car Production by Fuel Economy Classification, 1975-2014
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Share of Light Truck Production by Fuel Economy Classification, 1975-2014
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Fact #848 Dataset

Supporting Information

Share of Car Production by Fuel Economy Classification, 1975-2014
Model Year5 to 10 mpg10 to 15 mpg15 to 20 mpg20 to 25 mpg25 to 30 mpg30 to 35 mpg35 to 40 mpg40 to 45 mpg45 to 50 mpg50 to 55 mpg55 to 60 mpg
19756.6%57.4%23.9%9.0%3.1%      
19760.3%57.6%24.4%13.2%3.8%0.7%     
19770.3%44.0%36.6%10.2%6.5%1.5%0.8%    
19780.3%26.8%48.4%13.6%6.9%3.6%0.3%    
19790.1%24.2%48.5%17.9%8.0%1.0%0.4%    
19800.0%5.7%44.7%33.0%12.7%2.7%1.0%0.2%   
19810.0%2.6%38.1%33.6%18.4%5.1%1.5%0.8%   
19820.0%0.3%31.1%31.6%27.9%7.0%1.2%0.8%   
19830.0%0.3%33.7%29.6%24.7%9.5%1.9%0.4%0.0%  
19840.0%0.1%26.9%33.2%30.7%5.5%3.0%0.4%0.2%  
19850.0%0.1%27.4%29.3%33.5%7.3%1.5%0.4%0.5%  
19860.0%0.3%16.7%36.4%36.6%7.3%1.9%0.3%0.3%0.1%0.2%
19870.0%0.3%16.0%40.0%33.1%8.6%1.5%0.0%0.3%0.2% 
19880.0%0.3%14.4%40.5%33.8%8.1%2.5%0.0%0.2%0.2% 
19890.0%0.3%14.5%46.3%30.5%6.2%1.8%0.0%0.3%0.1% 
19900.0%0.2%14.1%50.7%28.7%5.2%0.7%0.1%0.3%0.0% 
19910.0%0.2%16.5%49.1%26.8%5.8%0.9%0.6%0.1%0.0% 
19920.0%0.2%14.1%56.0%22.1%5.0%1.6%0.8%0.1%0.1% 
19930.0%0.1%17.4%50.8%24.2%5.2%1.5%0.6%0.0%0.1% 
1994 0.1%18.8%50.7%23.5%4.9%1.4%0.6%0.0%0.1% 
19950.0%0.1%15.2%51.7%25.2%7.0%0.4%0.4%0.0%  
1996 0.1%12.9%60.5%20.6%5.1%0.4%0.3%   
1997 0.1%12.7%59.1%23.6%4.1%0.2%0.2%   
1998 0.1%13.8%57.2%25.3%3.2%0.1%0.3%   
1999 0.0%14.0%62.9%21.3%1.5%0.1%0.1%   
20000.0%0.0%14.2%66.1%17.8%1.5%0.2%0.1%  0.1%
20010.0%0.0%16.8%58.0%18.3%6.5%0.1%0.3%0.0% 0.0%
2002 0.1%12.8%64.4%16.6%5.5%0.2%0.4%0.0% 0.0%
20030.0%0.1%12.3%60.4%22.6%3.9%0.0%0.8%0.0%0.0% 
2004 0.1%14.8%57.0%25.1%2.0%0.1%0.3%0.6%0.0% 
2005 0.2%16.0%48.7%27.6%5.8%0.1%0.3%1.4%0.0% 
2006 0.3%16.1%52.4%21.6%8.1%0.0%0.4%1.0%0.0% 
2007 0.3%13.9%44.6%29.1%10.0% 0.4%1.8%  
2008 0.2%11.5%46.7%29.9%9.0%0.3%0.4%2.1%  
2009 0.2%6.0%38.6%37.1%16.2%0.4%0.3%1.3%  
2010 0.1%4.7%35.1%38.4%16.0%1.4%0.7%3.6%  
2011 0.1%4.9%36.1%42.5%12.9%1.2%0.4%1.9%  
2012 0.1%3.2%26.5%39.8%25.3%1.9%1.2%2.0%  
2013 0.1%2.4%22.3%41.3%27.7%2.9%1.2%2.1%  
2014 0.1%2.9%24.1%33.4%30.1%5.0%1.3%3.1%  

Share of Light Truck Production by Fuel Economy Classification, 1975-2014
Model Year5 to 10 mpg10 to 15 mpg15 to 20 mpg20 to 25 mpg25 to 30 mpg30 to 35 mpg35 to 40 mpg40 to 45 mpg45 to 50 mpg50 to 55 mpg55 to 60 mpg
197527.7%51.8%18.0%2.5%       
197612.0%66.1%16.7%5.1%       
19773.7%66.0%19.9%9.2%1.3%      
19782.9%68.6%19.0%8.6%0.9%      
197914.4%59.3%18.4%6.8%1.2%      
19800.2%40.7%37.9%19.1%1.5% 0.6%    
19810.0%22.8%50.7%16.1%7.1%2.6%0.7%    
1982 21.9%45.1%23.7%8.0%0.8%0.6%    
1983 21.1%41.3%26.7%9.8%0.9%0.2%    
19840.1%24.2%43.0%24.8%7.1%0.8%0.1%    
19850.0%27.8%40.8%26.3%4.8%0.3%0.0%    
1986 19.7%41.4%33.5%5.3%0.1%0.0%    
1987 17.3%43.1%33.4%6.1%0.0%0.0%    
19880.0%17.8%53.0%22.1%6.9%      
1989 18.8%54.3%24.3%2.7%      
19900.3%21.8%55.5%18.8%3.6%      
1991 16.6%59.9%21.4%2.1%      
1992 19.2%60.0%20.7%0.1%      
1993 14.5%66.2%19.2%0.0%      
1994 23.1%60.7%16.1%0.1%      
1995 24.4%59.8%15.8%0.0%      
1996 22.0%61.0%17.1%0.0%      
1997 19.5%70.5%10.1%0.0%      
1998 23.5%62.0%14.6%0.0%      
1999 24.2%63.7%12.2%       
2000 17.1%72.0%11.0%       
2001 23.5%66.6%9.9%       
2002 19.9%71.3%8.6%0.2%      
2003 24.1%61.6%14.4%       
2004 25.5%63.4%11.1%       
20050.0%20.9%64.4%14.6%0.1%      
20060.0%13.8%69.9%14.8%1.5%      
2007 10.1%74.4%14.7%0.8%      
2008 9.7%70.5%18.9%0.9%      
2009 2.6%66.9%29.4%1.1%      
2010 3.0%63.3%31.4%2.4%      
2011 3.7%58.8%34.8%2.7%      
2012 3.9%55.2%35.7%5.3%      
2013 2.6%49.9%36.4%11.0%      
2014 1.5%48.9%36.2%13.3%0.1%     

Note: 2014 estimates are based on preliminary production data.
Source: U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, Light-Duty Automotive Technology, Carbon Dioxide Emissions, and Fuel Economy Trends: 1975 Through 2014, EPA-420-R-14-023, October 2014.

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