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The EPA says that the final 2014 model year “adjusted” real world CO2 emissions (+20% higher than the emissions test used) for all new, personal vehicles is 366 g/mi, unchanged from 2013. The 2014 model year adjusted (-20% lower) fuel economy is 24.3 mpg, which is also unchanged from 2013. New vehicle CO2 emission rates remain at the lowest rate ever recorded in the so-called Historical Trends database, and likely the lowest rate of all-time. New vehicle fuel economy is correspondingly at the highest level ever recorded, and likely the highest of all-time.
Both numbers will be adjusted when 2015 final data becomes available from automakers submitted to the EPA and NHTSA at the conclusion of the model year. They will then include actual production data and the results of emission and fuel economy testing performed by the manufacturers and EPA. The average fuel economy for cars remained at 27.9 mpg, during 2014, while trucks increased 0.6 mpg to a new record high of 20.4 mpg. The annual truck increase of 0.6 mpg was the second highest in the last 30 years.
Federal bureaucrats say that greatest value of the Historical Trends database is the documentation of long-term trends. CO2 emissions and fuel economy have improved in eight out of the last ten years. Based on the final data through MY 2014, CO2 emissions have decreased by 95 g/mi, or 21%, since MY 2004, and fuel economy has increased by 5.0 mpg, or 26%, with an average annual improvement of about 0.5 mpg per year.
Preliminary MY 2015 adjusted CO2 emissions are projected to be 360 g/mi and fuel economy is projected to be 24.7 mpg, which would represent an improvement over MY 2014. These values are based on production estimates provided by automakers in early 2014 and are particularly uncertain given market conditions, including lower gasoline prices. MY 2015 values will be finalized in next year’s report.
Of the five vehicle types in Trends, cars have the highest average adjusted fuel economy of 28.7 mpg, followed by car SUVs (SUVs that must meet car GHG and fuel economy standards) at 24.6 mpg.
