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2015 Cars Gain MPGs, CAFE Goals in Reach if Gains Continue

“According to a new Consumer Federation of America analysis of 1,163 of this year’s new vehicles, fuel efficiency continues to increase for 2015 on a model by model basis. However, individual car company fleets, are backsliding on their overall fuel economy performance. From 2014 to 2015, the percent of vehicles with an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) fuel economy rating of at least 23 miles per gallon (mpg) ticked up from 50.5 percent to 52 percent, and the percent of vehicles with fuel economy at or below 16 mpg, the so-called gas-guzzlers,declined from 8.5 percent to 6.1 percent. On the other hand, the 2015 improvement disguises significant variation in the fuel economy progress made by individual car companies. While some automakers have made important progress in increasing the number of models that comply wit h the year’s Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standard, for example, Volvo (29 percent vs. 0 percent in 2014), Honda (57 percent vs. 51 percent in 2014) and Mercedes (18 percent vs. 12 percent in 2014), a number of companies slid backwards. Those registering the biggest declines in fuel efficiency were Kia (40 percent compliance in 2014 vs. 18 percent in 2015), Subaru (48 percent vs. 75 percent in 2014) and GM (19 percent vs. 27 percent in 2014).”

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