The EPA's most and least efficient automakers
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The Top 5 and the Bottom 5
The EPA has released its findings regarding automakers' corporate average fuel economy, and the news is good overall. As an industry, average fuel economy increased by 0.5 mpg, despite an increase in truck and SUV sales, and almost all of the manufacturers that met the EPA's production number requirement (150,000 for manufacturers and 40,000 for makes) improved fuel economy. However, there are still companies that are more efficient than others.
The companies listed here represent the five most fuel efficient companies, followed by the five least. The fuel economy numbers are for the 2015 model year, the most recent year the EPA has finalized data for. The numbers were also obtained using the normal test cycle used to determine window sticker fuel economy, but with highway mileage weighted more heavily. Production numbers of different vehicles was another factor in the EPA's evaluation, which brought a couple of manufacturers down this year.
It's also worth noting that Volkswagen was excluded by the EPA because the company is still being investigated. For more details on the EPA's report, you can check out its summary here, or our story on some of the interesting tidbits here.
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The Best: 1. Mazda
Well what do you know, arguably the most fun-to-drive line-up in the country is also the most efficient. Mazda topped the EPA's rating with 29.2 mpg. The EPA report also examined various fuel-saving technologies that companies use, and Mazda is the only company to employ direct injection across its entire range. -
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The Best: 2. Honda (Honda and Acura)
Honda, which includes its Acura subsidiary, trailed Mazda's fuel economy by just 0.7 mpg, with the average rating of 28.9 mpg. However, Honda can boast that it had the largest overall improvement in fuel economy, with an increase of 1.6 mpg. -
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The Best: 3. Subaru
Subaru comes in at a near tie with the next automaker, eking out a lead of just 0.1 mpg. The company's rating of 28.4 mpg is made even more impressive considering that its entire line-up, except for the BRZ, comes with all wheel drive, which adds weight. -
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The Best: 4. Nissan (Nissan and Infiniti)
Nissan just barely missed out on 3rd place to Subaru, but its 28.3 mpg rating is still great. It also can boast the second biggest fuel economy improvement with a gain of 1.3 mpg. Nissan and Subaru both take advantage of CVT transmissions, and according the EPA's report, both use CVTs across more of their line-ups than other companies. -
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The Best: 5. Hyundai
Hyundai rounds out the top 5 with a fuel economy rating of 27.8 mpg. This rating beats out the company's corporate sibling Kia, which is classified as another manufacturer due to the number of vehicles produced. Interestingly, Kia also was 1.5 mpg behind Hyundai with a 26.3 mpg rating. -
- Image Credit: Drew Phillips
The Worst: 1. FCA (Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Jeep and Ram)
Perhaps it's not so surprising that the company that gave us the Hellcat twins sits at the bottom of the list. Fiat Chrysler brings up the rear with an average fuel economy of 21.8 mpg. The company does deserve some credit, though, since it made the third largest fuel economy improvement of 1.0 mpg, and also reduced its greenhouse gas emissions more than any other company. -
- Image Credit: Drew Phillips
The Worst: 2. GM (Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet and GMC)
General Motors is one of only two companies listed that saw its average fuel economy drop. The reason for this is that, although the General's car line-up maintained its efficiency, and the truck line increased, GM increased truck production. The larger portion of trucks in the company's production brought the overall number down by 0.5 mpg. -
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The Worst: 3. Ford (Ford and Lincoln)
Ford saw just a minor improvement of 0.2 mpg for the 2015 model year. The company, which, according to the EPA, utilizes turbocharging on more of its line-up than any company except for the German automakers, came up third to last with 23.0 mpg. -
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- Image Credit: Michael Harley / AOL
The Worst: 5. Toyota
We now come to the best of the worst, Toyota, which saw its average fuel economy drop 0.4 mpg to 25.2 mpg. This may seem surprising, since the company builds such remarkably efficient cars, such as the Prius. However, Toyota had a similar issue to General Motors. Its truck line's fuel economy improved, but production increased as well. This affected the company's rating, along with a slight decrease in the car range's economy.
