Light-Duty Automotive Technology, Carbon Dioxide Emissions, and Fuel Economy Trends: 1975 Through 2010 -- EPA

This report, published in November 2010, provides data on the fuel economy, carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, and technology trends of new light-duty vehicles (cars, minivans, sport utility vehicles, and pickup trucks) for model years 1975 through 2010 in the United States.

For model year 2009, the last year for which EPA has final data, EPA projects average real-world CO2 emissions to be 397 grams per mile and fuel economy to be 22.4 miles per gallon (the fuel economy values in this report are those that EPA provides to consumers, and are lower than the fuel economy values used for compliance with CAFE standards).

CO2 emissions and fuel economy are at their most favorable levels since the EPA database began in 1975, and are slightly better than the previous best year of 1987. Preliminary values for model year 2010 suggest a slight improvement to 395 grams CO2 per mile and 22.5 mpg, but there is uncertainty in the 2010 values as they are based on automaker projections provided to EPA during the market turmoil of 2009. Average CO2 emissions and fuel economy have improved each year beginning in 2005, and are about 15 percent better than in 2004. This reverses a long-term trend of worsening CO2 emissions and fuel economy from 1987 through 2004.