New Passenger Vehicles Have Record Fuel Efficiency

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By Trey Thoelcke Published

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Industry analysts Baum & Associates have released data on fuel efficiency for new passenger vehicles entering the U.S. in the first half of 2012. The firm found that from January to June of 2012, the average fuel efficiency of new passenger vehicles was 23.8 MPG. That was a 1.1 MPG improvement on the record of 22.7 MPG set over the same six months in 2011.

“Thanks to a bumper crop of fuel efficient models in the most popular segments, consumers don’t have to choose between fuel efficiency and performance,” said Alan Baum, principal of Baum & Associates. “No matter what type of vehicle you want, midsize car, minivan, SUV or pickup truck, carmakers are now upping fuel efficiency performance across the board. The new era of auto fuel efficiency is truly here.”

Based on the year-to-date sales data from model year 2012 (October 2011 to June 2012), as tracked by the University of Michigan, the U.S. fleet fuel efficiency average is expected to exceed government regulators’ forecast of a fleet wide average of 23.4 mpg for model year 2012.

Toyota Motor Corp.’s (NYSE: TM) Prius tops the list of the most fuel efficient cars for 2012-2013. Ford Motor Co.’s (NYSE: F) Fusion Hybrid is also in the top ten.

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About the Author Trey Thoelcke →

Trey has been an editor and author at 24/7 Wall St. for more than a decade, where he has published thousands of articles analyzing corporate earnings, dividend stocks, short interest, insider buying, private equity, and market trends. His comprehensive coverage spans the full spectrum of financial markets, from blue-chip stalwarts to emerging growth companies.

Beyond 24/7 Wall St., Trey has created and edited financial content for Benzinga and AOL's BloggingStocks, contributing additional hundreds of articles to the investment community. He previously oversaw the 24/7 Climate Insights site, managing editorial operations and content strategy, and currently oversees and creates content for My Investing News.

Trey's editorial expertise extends across multiple publishing environments. He served as production editor at Dearborn Financial Publishing and development editor at Kaplan, where he helped shape financial education materials. Earlier in his career, he worked as a writer-producer at SVE. His freelance editing portfolio includes work for prestigious clients such as Sage Publications, Rand McNally, the Institute for Supply Management, the American Library Association, Eggplant Literary Productions, and Spiegel.

Outside of financial journalism, Trey writes fiction and has been an active member of the writing community for years, overseeing a long-running critique group and moderating workshop sessions at regional conventions. He lives with his family in an old house in the Midwest.

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