Automakers Exceed 2013 US MPG Targets

Cars in the United States are more fuel efficient than ever. 

The U.S. government’s targets for fuel consumption and tailpipe emissions were exceeded in 2013, with the light-vehicle fleet averaging 24.1 mpg according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). That number marks an improvement of 0.5 mpg compared with the previous year and puts automakers ahead of government standards by a “wide margin,” says the EPA.

These improvements show that the efforts of automakers to increase fuel efficiency in their vehicles outweighs the spike in truck and SUV sales, at least for now. Fuel savings in new vehicles comes from technologies like direct injection, variable valve timing and the reduction of weight thanks to lightweight materials.

SEE ALSO: Nissan Group Leads Full-Line Automakers in MPG

Some of the gains in fuel economy can be attributed to special energy credits that automakers can use to boost air conditioning along with selling vehicles that run using ethanol. Without these credits, it’s likely that automakers would not live up to the feds efficiency standards.

Nine out of 13 major automakers beat their own fuel economy targets in 2013, while there are more than three times the amount of vehicles that average 30 mpg or better than five years ago.

The eventual goal is top push to the average fuel economy for the entire U.S. new car fleet to 54.5 MPG by 2025.