DETROIT -- The average fuel economy of new light vehicles sold in the U.S. in April rose to 25.3 mpg, up 0.1 mpg from March's level, the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute said Thursday.
Average fuel economy for new light vehicles sold in the U.S. has risen by 5.2 mpg since October 2007, when the study began.
Year-over-year U.S. light-vehicle sales slid 4.7 percent in April, with car deliveries dropping 11.4 percent and light-truck sales, including crossovers, down 0.1 percent, according to the Automotive News Data Center. Across the truck segment, pickup sales fell 3.5 percent while crossover sales increased 5.5 percent last month.
April's average fuel economy of new cars and light trucks, collected from EPA ratings on window stickers, rose 0.3 mpg from the year-earlier level, but slipped 0.2 mpg from the high of 25.5 in August 2014. Researchers Michael Sivak and Brandon Schoettle conducted the study.
The rise in average fuel economy came amid a slight uptick in fuel prices. The average price of a gallon of regular gasoline on Thursday was $2.367, up from $2.223 a year ago, AAA data showed.
The institute's greenhouse gas emissions index for U.S. drivers rose to 0.85 in February, from 0.86 in January and the baseline figure of 1 in October 2007. That means the average new-vehicle driver generated 15 percent fewer emissions in February than in October 2007.
