The average fuel economy of new vehicles sold in the U.S. experienced its biggest dip in nearly three years in September. That's according to the latest figures from the University of Michigan's Transportation Research Institute, which show last month's fuel economy to be 25.3 mpg compared with 25.8 in August.
Related: Top 10 Best-Selling Cars: September 2014
While small drops are not uncommon, the last time the average fuel economy fell that sharply was in December 2011, when it dipped to 22.6 mpg from 23.1 mpg in November of that year, also a decrease of 0.5 mpg. The biggest month-to-month decline since the institute began tracking average fuel economy seven years ago came in 2009, when it plummeted from a then-record 22.4 mpg in August to 21.1 mpg in September, a 1.3 mpg drop that followed a year of steady increases. However, fuel economy quickly rebounded in October of that year, jumping a full 1 mpg to 22.1.
Even with this latest decline, the average fuel economy of new vehicles sold in the U.S. — determined by "window-sticker" value versus the "real-world" mileage vehicles actually get — is a far cry from the 20.1 mpg average when tracking began in October 2007. Average fuel economy hit an all-time high of 25.8 this past August. Institute researchers Michael Sivak and Brandon Schoettle said in a statement that the drop "likely reflects the increased sales of light trucks and SUVs."
In other news, the average monthly emission of greenhouse gases generated by an individual U.S. driver as calculated by the University of Michigan's Eco-Driving Index set a positive precedent. The EDI — which takes into account both fuel economy and distance driven — for July stood at a record low of 0.77, indicating that the average new-vehicle driver produced 23 percent lower emissions in July 2014 than in October 2007.
Cars.com photo by Evan Sears
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