Americans Get Most Mileage Out Of Foreign Cars

When April sales data came out, a lot of noise was made of the shift towards gasoline-sipping small cars. Shrill voices feted sales of electric cars, which look like a rounding error, as a win in the war on terror. As so often, the truth is different. The new cars that hit the road in April get, on average, slightly less mileage (23.3 mpg) than those sold in March (23.4 mpg). If the war on terror would honestly be waged on dealer lots, then the true heroes would be foreign mercenaries, with Americans occupying rear echelon slots. "In April, we saw a slight increase in sales of trucks and SUVs, which factored into the decrease in the actual fuel economy of cars sold" said Jesse Toprak, Vice President of Market Intelligence at TrueCar.com. Each month, the Santa Monica, CA, company compiles the actual fuel economy numbers of then light vehicles sold in that month on a sales-weighted basis. TrueCar calls this number TrueMPG. Average MPG Manufacturer Apr '12 Apr '11 YoY Hyundai 27.6 26.0 1.6 Volkswagen 26.8 25.2 1.6 Toyota 25.5 23.7 1.8 Honda 25.2 24.2 1.0 Nissan 23.4 22.6 0.8 Industry 23.3 22.2 1.1 Ford 22.1 21.1 1.0 GM 21.5 21.2 0.3 Chrysler 20.0 18.4 1.6 Compared to April 2011 (22.2 mpg), the average of all cars sold is up by more than a gallon, reflecting changes in technology and buying patterns. The leaders of the list improved more than the laggards. Again, as measured by what is actually bought and sold, America's most fuel efficient cars are not American. The Detroit 3 rank below industry average. Chrysler has the worst showing. GM has the most measly increase in MPG. Ford is reaping the results of its fuel economy focus. Average Car MPG Manufacturer Apr '12 Apr '11 YoY Toyota 31.0 28.6 2.4 Hyundai 29.3 27.0 2.3 Honda 27.9 27.4 0.5 Volkswagen 27.6 26.7 0.9 Industry 27.0 25.5 1.5 Nissan 26.5 24.9 1.6 Ford 26.3 25.4 0.9 GM 25.1 24.4 0.7 Chrysler 22.8 21.6 1.2 TrueCar breaks out is TrueMPG in a multitude of ways. Looking at the data by car and by truck does not change the overall picture much. In the car category, Toyota moves to the top. Average Truck MPG Manufacturer Apr '12 Apr '11 YoY Hyundai 22.8 22.5 0.3 Honda 22.4 20.7 1.7 Volkswagen 21.8 20.5 1.3 Toyota 19.5 19.5 0 Industry 19.3 18.4 0.9 Nissan 19.2 18.5 0.7 GM 19.1 18.8 0.3 Ford 18.8 16.6 2.2 Chrysler 17.6 17.7 -0.1 Measured by (all types of) trucks alone, Hyundai reigns supreme, whereas Chrysler sells the most fuelly oinkers. Average Small Car MPG Manufacturer Apr '12 Apr '11 YoY Toyota 35.7 33.1 2.5 Ford 32.2 28.6 3.6 Honda 32.2 29.8 2.0 Industry 31.9 29.2 2.7 Volkswagen 31.3 29.4 2.1 Nissan 30.7 28.5 1.9 Hyundai 30.4 29.8 1.3 GM 30.3 27.7 2.5 Mazda 29.7 26.0 3.7 Subaru 28.3 22.2 6.1 Mitsubishi 25.3 26.1 -0.8 Chrysler 25.0 24.5 0.7 An even thinner slicing of the data even further, finally brings respect to a Detroit maker. Ford is above average in the Small Car discipline, which is led by Toyota. Average Midsize Car MPG Manufacturer Apr '12 Apr '11 YoY Volkswagen 29.3 24.6 4.7 Toyota 28.7 24.4 4.3 Hyundai 27.7 26.3 1.4 Ford 26.8 25.5 1.3 Industry 26.4 25.1 1.3 Honda 26.0 25.9 0.1 GM 25.8 25.5 0.3 Nissan 25.1 23.5 1.6 Suzuki 25.1 24.9 0.2 Mazda 24.7 23.8 0.9 Mitsubishi 24.3 24.3 0.0 Subaru 24.3 24.1 0.2 Chrysler 24.0 23.9 0.1 The midsize car category is in the hands of Germans, Japanese, and Koreans, with Ford in place four. Average Large Truck MPG Manufacturer Apr '12 Apr '11 YoY Ford 17.4 16.2 1.2 Honda 17.2 16.9 0.3 GM 17.1 17.7 -0.6 Industry 16.8 16.4 0.4 Chrysler 15.8 16.2 -0.4 Toyota 15.4 15.6 -0.2 Nissan 14.3 14.2 0.1 At last, two Detroit makers above average, in the discipline that usually delivers abysmal mileage: Ford sells the most large trucks with the best mileage. GM, which had led this discipline a year ago, loses 0.6 miles and falls back to place three. If you miss your favorite data view, go over to TrueCar, which gives you a few more. TrueCars measures its TrueMPG using Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ratings based on monthly automotive sales-weighted data. 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. from The Truth About Cars http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com

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