As of November 25, 2024, the US Environmental Protection Agency released its 50th annual Automotive Trends Report, showing that model year 2023 vehicle fuel economy reached a record high while greenhouse gas emissions dropped to record low levels. [1] The report shows that all 14 large automotive manufacturers complied with EPA’s light-duty GHG program requirements through the MY 2023 reporting period. New MY 2023 electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles on the road have led to 11% lower CO2 emissions. The fuel economy has improved from 13.1 miles per gallon in MY 1975 to 27.1 mpg for MY 2023 vehicles. However, passenger cars and light trucks still accounted for 17% of total US GHG emissions in 2022.
In MY 2023, the combined category of battery-electric vehicles, PHEVs, and fuel cell vehicles rose from 6.7% of production in MY 2022 to 11.5% of production in MY 2023. They are projected to reach 14.8% of production in model year 2024. This trend will likely continue as EV production is expected to grow across the industry in the next few years.