EPA Report

Trucks Get More Efficient While Cars Unchanged

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Conventional wisdom is that cars are more fuel-efficient and trucks are guzzling pigs. While there are certain immutable laws of physics that will favor lighter, more aerodynamic passenger cars over trucks and SUVs, tens if not hundreds of millions of dollars of engineering have gone into making trucks and SUVs more efficient. This is especially important in a market like the U.S., where a significant percentage of new vehicles sold are trucks or SUVs. For the 2014 model year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) noted that the average fuel economy for cars remained unchanged at 27.9 mpg, while truck fuel economy reached a new record high of 20.4 mpg, an increase of 0.6 mpg, and the second highest year-over-year increase in 30 years.

Interestingly, the EPA differentiates between truck and car-based SUVs (crossovers), calling them “Truck SUVs” and “Car SUVs.” The Truck category includes pickups, vans and minivans, and truck-based SUVs. Trucks accounted for 41 percent of all light-duty vehicle production in model year 2014, up 5 percent from 2013, but down from the all-time high of 48 percent in 2004. Crossovers, the fastest-growing market segment, is included in the “Cars” total as “Car SUVs.” No doubt helping trucks was the introduction of the Ram 1500 EcoDiesel in 2014. Truck fuel economy is likely poised to increase in the years ahead, with the introduction of the 2016 Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon Duramax and rumors of hybrid and diesel versions of the Ford F-150.

Truck Trend

With the number of total trucks sold, 41% of all total production in 2014, the EcoDiesel and Duramax now offered wouldn't be anywhere close to a significant number of units to alter the results by even a single percentage. Only thing going to skew the number higher is when standard equipped trucks get a new technological benefit or change in the power plant: lighter materials, cylinder deactivation, start/stop systems, "significant" double digit volumes of diesels, etc.