U.S. Department of Energy - Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

Vehicle Technologies Office

Fact #692: September 12, 2011
Fuel Economy Distribution for New Cars and Light Trucks

Nearly 64% of new cars sold in model year (MY) 1975 had combined highway/city fuel economy of 15 miles per gallon (mpg) or less [blue shading]. By 2010, 63% of cars had fuel economy of 25 mpg or higher [green shading and up]. Light trucks, which typically have lower fuel economy than cars, show a drastic change in the market in the early 1980's – moving towards new light trucks with 15-20 mpg. While the majority of light trucks sold are still in the 15-20 mpg range, more than 37% in 2009 and 2010 were 20 mpg or higher.

New Car Market Share by Fuel Economy, MY1975-2010Graph showing new car market share by fuel economy from 1975 to 2010. For more detailed information, see supporting information below.
New Light Truck Market Share by Fuel Economy, MY1975-2010Graph showing new light truck market share by fuel economy from 1975 to 2010. For more detailed information, see supporting information below.

Supporting Information

Car Market Share
Model Year 5-10
mpg		 10-15
mpg		 15-20
mpg		 20-25
mpg		 25-30
mpg		 30-35
mpg		 35-40
mpg		 40-45
mpg		 45-50
mpg		 50-55
mpg		 55-60
mpg
1975 6.6% 57.3% 23.9% 9.0% 3.1%            
1976 0.2% 57.6% 24.4% 13.2% 3.8% 0.7%          
1977 0.2% 44.0% 36.7% 10.2% 6.6% 1.5% 0.8%        
1978 0.3% 26.8% 48.4% 13.7% 6.9% 3.6% 0.3%        
1979 0.0% 24.2% 48.5% 17.9% 8.0% 1.0% 0.4%        
1980 0.0% 5.7% 44.7% 33.0% 12.7% 2.7% 1.0% 0.2%      
1981 0.0% 2.6% 38.1% 33.6% 18.4% 5.1% 1.5% 0.8%      
1982 0.0% 0.3% 31.1% 31.7% 27.9% 7.0% 1.2% 0.8%      
1983 0.0% 0.3% 33.6% 29.5% 24.8% 9.5% 1.9% 0.4% 0.0%    
1984 0.0% 0.1% 26.9% 33.1% 30.8% 5.6% 3.0% 0.4% 0.2%    
1985 0.0% 0.1% 27.5% 28.9% 33.8% 7.3% 1.5% 0.4% 0.5%    
1986 0.0% 0.3% 16.3% 36.5% 36.8% 7.3% 1.9% 0.3% 0.3% 0.1% 0.2%
1987 0.0% 0.3% 15.3% 40.3% 33.4% 8.7% 1.6% 0.0% 0.3% 0.2%  
1988 0.0% 0.3% 13.8% 40.6% 34.2% 8.2% 2.5% 0.0% 0.2% 0.2%  
1989 0.0% 0.3% 13.8% 46.6% 30.8% 6.2% 1.9% 0.0% 0.3% 0.1%  
1990 0.0% 0.2% 13.4% 51.1% 28.9% 5.3% 0.7% 0.1% 0.3% 0.1%  
1991 0.0% 0.2% 14.5% 50.4% 27.3% 5.9% 0.9% 0.7% 0.1% 0.0%  
1992 0.0% 0.2% 11.8% 57.5% 22.8% 5.1% 1.6% 0.8% 0.1% 0.1%  
1993 0.0% 0.1% 13.1% 53.4% 25.5% 5.5% 1.6% 0.7% 0.0% 0.1%  
1994   0.1% 16.1% 52.1% 24.6% 4.9% 1.5% 0.6% 0.0% 0.1%  
1995 0.0% 0.1% 13.5% 52.6% 25.8% 7.1% 0.5% 0.4% 0.0%    
1996   0.1% 10.4% 62.2% 21.5% 5.1% 0.4% 0.3%      
1997   0.1% 10.9% 59.7% 25.2% 3.7% 0.2% 0.2%      
1998   0.1% 9.9% 59.4% 26.8% 3.4% 0.1% 0.3%      
1999   0.1% 9.9% 65.6% 22.6% 1.6% 0.1% 0.1%      
2000 0.0% 0.0% 9.2% 69.8% 19.0% 1.6% 0.2% 0.2%     0.1%
2001 0.0% 0.0% 11.8% 60.7% 19.9% 7.0% 0.1% 0.3% 0.0%   0.0%
2002   0.1% 10.1% 65.8% 17.5% 5.9% 0.2% 0.4% 0.0%   0.0%
2003 0.0% 0.1% 10.4% 60.3% 24.2% 4.1% 0.0% 0.8% 0.0% 0.0%  
2004   0.1% 13.1% 56.3% 27.2% 2.2% 0.2% 0.3% 0.6% 0.0%  
2005   0.2% 13.5% 47.7% 30.3% 6.4% 0.1% 0.3% 1.5% 0.0%  
2006   0.4% 13.8% 51.9% 23.5% 8.9% 0.0% 0.4% 1.1% 0.0%  
2007   0.3% 10.1% 43.9% 32.3% 11.1%   0.4% 2.0%    
2008   0.3% 8.9% 44.6% 33.3% 9.9% 0.3% 0.4% 2.3%    
2009   0.2% 5.1% 33.7% 40.7% 18.1% 0.4% 0.3% 1.5%    
2010   0.2% 6.1% 31.1% 37.4% 20.2% 1.0% 1.2% 2.8%    

Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Light-Duty Automotive Technology, Carbon Dioxide Emissions, and Fuel Economy Trends: 1975 Through 2010, Appendix C.

 

Light Truck Market Share
Model Year 5-10
mpg		 10-15
mpg		 15-20
mpg		 20-25
mpg		 25-30
mpg		 30-35
mpg		 35-40
mpg		 40-45
mpg		 45-50
mpg		 50-55
mpg		 55-60
mpg
1975 27.6% 52.1% 17.9% 2.5%              
1976 12.3% 66.0% 16.6% 5.1%              
1977 3.8% 66.0% 19.8% 9.1% 1.3%            
1978 3.1% 68.6% 18.9% 8.5% 0.9%            
1979 14.4% 59.1% 18.6% 6.7% 1.2%            
1980 0.2% 40.7% 37.9% 19.1% 1.5%   0.6%        
1981 0.0% 22.8% 50.7% 16.1% 7.1% 2.6% 0.7%        
1982   21.8% 45.3% 23.7% 7.9% 0.7% 0.6%        
1983   20.8% 41.4% 27.1% 9.7% 0.9% 0.2%        
1984 0.1% 23.9% 42.8% 25.4% 7.0% 0.7% 0.1%        
1985 0.0% 27.2% 40.2% 27.7% 4.7% 0.3% 0.0%        
1986   19.4% 42.0% 33.2% 5.3% 0.1% 0.0%        
1987   16.9% 44.2% 32.9% 6.0% 0.0% 0.0%        
1988 0.0% 17.4% 53.6% 22.2% 6.8%            
1989   18.3% 54.9% 24.2% 2.6%            
1990 0.3% 21.4% 56.2% 18.5% 3.5%            
1991   15.7% 61.8% 20.5% 2.1%            
1992   18.2% 61.7% 20.0% 0.1%            
1993   13.1% 69.1% 17.8% 0.0%            
1994   21.7% 62.3% 15.8% 0.1%            
1995   23.5% 60.8% 15.6% 0.0%            
1996   21.0% 61.9% 17.0% 0.1%            
1997   18.3% 69.8% 11.9% 0.0%            
1998   21.8% 63.4% 14.8% 0.0%            
1999   22.4% 65.1% 12.4%              
2000   15.7% 73.4% 10.9%              
2001   21.1% 67.3% 11.6% 0.1%            
2002   18.3% 69.6% 11.7% 0.3%            
2003   22.3% 59.8% 17.8% 0.0%            
2004   23.5% 61.2% 15.3%              
2005 0.0% 18.7% 62.0% 19.1% 0.1%            
2006 0.0% 12.3% 66.8% 19.4% 1.4%            
2007   8.8% 71.1% 19.2% 0.9%            
2008   8.3% 65.1% 25.1% 1.1% 0.3%          
2009   2.2% 57.9% 37.9% 1.6% 0.3%          
2010   3.3% 58.5% 35.0% 3.0% 0.2%          

Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Light-Duty Automotive Technology, Carbon Dioxide Emissions, and Fuel Economy Trends: 1975 Through 2010, Appendix C.

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