Average fuel economy for new cars flat

TrueCar, the authority on new car pricing information, trends and forecasting, today provided actual fuel economy numbers from November light vehicle auto sales that indicate TrueMPG increased to 23.2 mpg in November 2012 compared to 22.3 mpg in November 2011, and stayed flat from October 2012 at 23.2 mpg.

"The demand for fuel-efficient vehicles continues to be unseasonably strong as TrueMPG has remained at 23.0 MPG or above since February," said Jesse Toprak, Senior Analyst at TrueCar. "We expect to see TrueMPG dip in December as more consumers snap up larger SUVs and trucks."

Below is how the top eight manufacturers fared comparing overall mpg, broken out by car and truck mpg:

According to TrueCar.com, the TrueMPG for vehicles sold by U.S. manufacturers averaged 21.2 MPG in November 2012, up from 20.5 MPG in November 2011. European manufacturers increased their average fuel economy for vehicles sold from 22.2 MPG to 23.3 MPG; Japanese manufacturers increased their average fuel economy from last year at 23.9 MPG to 24.8 MPG; and South Korean manufacturers increased their average fuel economy for vehicles from 26.4 MPG to 26.8 MPG.

Below is a snapshot of a few vehicle segments and how they compare from November 2012 versus November 2011:

TrueMPG is an easy-to-understand and objective way to comprehend monthly fuel economy averages by brand, manufacturer, origin and vehicle segments using Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") ratings and actual monthly automotive sales-weighted data. TrueCar.com seeks to provide transparency and truth in average fuel economy, providing an alternative view to Corporate Average Fuel Economy ("CAFE") ratings that can be confusing and misleading. TrueMPG helps keep in perspective what each manufacturer's average miles per gallon per car sold, computed monthly and annually, by using the EPA's window sticker ratings.

TrueMPG computes monthly average fuel economy by brand, manufacturer, origin and vehicle segments by using actual sales data for the current month. Calculations start at the trim level, taking into account EPA fuel economy data including engine size and drivetrain that affect a vehicle's MPG ratings; the sales share from each trim level is then calculated to create an average for each model. Brand level data is calculated by the sales share of each model and the manufacturer data is then based on the share of each brand, providing an accurate and completely data driven picture of actual measured MPGs in the market place. TrueCar utilizes the EPA's average fuel economy rating using 45 percent highway and 55 percent city driving behavior.