Historically, manual transmissions have delivered better fuel economy than automatic transmissions. However, improvements in the efficiency of automatic transmissions have closed that gap in recent years. Improved designs and the increased number of gears used in automatic transmissions have contributed to the improved fuel economy of vehicles fitted with automatic transmissions. Automatic transmissions have added gears more quickly than their manual counterparts.

Comparison of Manual and Automatic Transmission Fuel Economy in Vehicles which have Both Options, Model Years 1980-2014

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Note: Fuel economy average is the production-weighted harmonic mean.

Fact #850 Dataset

Supporting Information

Comparison of Manual and Automatic Transmission Fuel Economy in Vehicles which have Both Options, Model Years 1980-2014
Model YearTransmission Type
AutomaticManual
198017.118.2
198118.420.1
198220.222.2
198321.023.0
198420.822.5
198521.322.9
198621.322.8
198720.922.2
198820.922.0
198920.722.0
199020.821.8
199120.821.9
199221.022.1
199321.222.3
199420.721.8
199520.821.9
199621.522.8
199721.222.3
199821.022.1
199921.422.4
200021.022.1
200121.021.9
200220.821.5
200320.921.6
200421.021.6
200521.021.6
200621.221.5
200721.421.7
200821.621.8
200922.322.4
201022.822.8
201124.024.1
201224.724.6
201325.826.0
201426.226.1

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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