New Vehicle Fuel Economy Averaged 1.7% Improvement In 2016 And A 10-year Average Gain Of 1.6%

From MarketWatch, "America’s love of gas guzzlers is hampering progress on fuel economy" by Claudia Assis:

New vehicles sold in 2016 averaged 23.7 miles per gallon, compared with 23.3 miles per gallon in 2015 and 19.9 miles per gallon a decade ago, analysts at Tudor Pickering Holt said in a recent note.

That 1.7% improvement in 2016 is only a squeak more than the 10-year average gains of 1.6%:

Source: MarketWatch

One major headwind to fuel economy is Americans’ “seemingly insatiable appetite for trucks,” the analysts said. Trucks’ fuel economy averaged 21 miles per gallon last year, compared with cars at 29 miles per gallon. Six out of 10 new vehicles sold in 2016 were trucks, the highest share since at least 2000, they said.

Then there’s low penetration for hybrid vehicles, which had a market share of 2.9% last year, down from a peak 3.7% in 2013. Declining gasoline prices in the last couple of years are the most likely cause of falling hybrid share, the Tudor Pickering Holt analysts said.