Overall Fuel Efficiency of New Cars in the US Rises to 23.8 MPG

The ‘green’ trend has clearly taken hold, and thanks to downsizing, hybrids, EVs and people just taking the bus, the combined fuel efficiency rating of all new vehicles sold in the US, in 2012, has reportedly risen to 23.8 mpg. This is correlated with an increase in the sales volume of cars like the Chevrolet Volt, Nissan Leaf, Fiat 500, Scion iQ and the new generation of hybrids from Honda, Toyota and Ford.

The increase in efficiency is clearly evident, as the figure stood around the 22.5 MPG mark, in 2011. For instance, when researchers first began to monitor the this particular figure, it stood at 20.1 MPG. This means that the new figure, 23.8 MPG, represents a 19% improvement, and it shows that whatever the automakers (and buyers) are doing, the results are there.

The US car buyer is finally realizing that a big car is just wasting fuel, carrying around all of its mass around, and that a smaller, more efficient and more technologically-advanced alternative is the way to go. Sales of the Fiat 500 have doubled last year, to 43,772, while the number of Chevy Volts sold has tripled, reaching 23,461 units sold.

Story via autonews.com