CHICAGO, July 7 (Xinhua) -- The average fuel economy of new vehicles sold in June in the United States was 25.1 mpg, down 0.2 mpg from May, said a report posted on the website of the University of Michigan (UM) on Friday.
Overall, fuel economy was down 0.4 mpg in June from the peak of 25.5 mpg recorded in August 2014, but was still up by 5.0 mpg from October 2007, the first full month of monitoring by Michael Sivak and Brandon Schoettle, both research professors at UM Transportation Institute.
"This drop likely reflects the decreased price of gasoline in June, and the consequent increased proportion of pickup trucks, SUVs and crossovers in the sales mix," the report quoted Sivak as saying.
Besides average fuel economy, Sivak and Schoettle also update a national Eco-Driving Index (EDI) on a monthly basis.
The index estimates the average monthly emissions generated by an individual U.S. driver, and takes into account both the fuel used per distance driven and the amount of driving. The lower the index is, the better.
