Fact #969: March 20, 2017 New Vehicle Fuel Economy Has Improved 33% From 1980 to 2016

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Despite a 120% increase in horsepower and 47% improvement in acceleration (measured by time to accelerate from 0 to 60 mph) from model year (MY) 1980 to 2016, the fuel economy of vehicles improved 33%. The data are based on sales-weighted averages. In the 1990s and early 2000s, fuel economy decreased while vehicle weight increased, and fuel economy has improved nearly every year since 2004.

Characteristics of New Light Vehicles Sold, MY 1980-2016

Graph showing characteristics (horsepower, weight, fuel economy, 0-60) of new light vehicles sold for model years 1980-2016.

Note: Data are sales-weighted.

Fact #969 Dataset

Supporting Information

Characteristics of New Light Vehicles Sold, MY 1980-2016
Model Year	Original Values				Indexed Values (Graph)
	Fuel Economy	Weight	Horse-power	0-60 Time	Fuel Economy	Weight	Horse-power	0-60 Time
	Miles per Gallon	Pounds	Horse-power	Seconds	Miles per Gallon	Pounds	Horse-power	Seconds
1980	19.2	3,228	104	15.6	100	100	100	100
1981	20.5	3,202	102	15.6	107	99	98	100
1982	21.1	3,202	103	16.6	110	99	99	106
1983	21.0	3,257	107	14.9	109	101	103	96
1984	21.0	3,262	109	14.7	109	101	105	94
1985	21.3	3,271	114	14.1	111	101	110	90
1986	21.8	3,238	114	13.4	114	100	110	86
1987	22.0	3,221	118	13.4	115	100	113	86
1988	21.9	3,283	123	13.3	114	102	118	85
1989	21.4	3,351	129	12.5	111	104	124	80
1990	21.2	3,426	135	11.5	110	106	130	74
1991	21.3	3,410	138	11.4	111	106	133	73
1992	20.8	3,512	145	11.0	108	109	139	71
1993	20.9	3,519	147	10.3	109	109	141	66
1994	20.4	3,603	152	10.1	106	112	146	65
1995	20.5	3,613	158	10.1	107	112	152	65
1996	20.4	3,659	164	10.4	106	113	158	67
1997	20.2	3,727	169	10.2	105	115	163	65
1998	20.1	3,744	171	10.4	105	116	164	67
1999	19.7	3,835	179	10.3	103	119	172	66
2000	19.8	3,821	181	9.8	103	118	174	63
2001	19.6	3,879	187	9.5	102	120	180	61
2002	19.5	3,951	195	9.4	102	122	188	60
2003	19.6	3,999	199	9.3	102	124	191	60
2004	19.3	4,111	211	9.1	101	127	203	58
2005	19.9	4,059	209	9.0	104	126	201	58
2006	20.1	4,067	213	8.9	105	126	205	57
2007	20.6	4,093	217	8.9	107	127	209	57
2008	21.0	4,085	219	8.9	109	127	211	57
2009	22.4	3,914	208	8.8	117	121	200	56
2010	22.6	4,001	214	8.8	118	124	206	56
2011	22.4	4,126	230	8.5	117	128	221	54
2012	23.7	3,979	222	8.5	123	123	213	54
2013	24.3	4,003	226	8.4	127	124	217	54
2014	24.3	4,060	230	8.3	127	126	221	53
2015	24.8	4,035	229	8.3	129	125	220	53
2016	25.6	3,985	229	8.2	133	123	220	53
Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Light-Duty Automotive Technology, Carbon Dioxide Emissions, and Fuel Economy Trends: 1975 through 2016, EPA-420-R-16-010, November 2016.

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