Featured EPA Light-Duty Vehicle CO2 and Fuel Economy Trends

Interesting that the number of hybrids available is the same in 2017 as 2012. I thought more larger vehicles were going that route.
Of course, all of the growth in that time being PHEVs (categorized separately) is nice to see.

 

Not much to be surprised about they are starting in 2015. Last year ford sold more bigger footprint vehicles like the f-series pick up they remained the same. VW and Fiat Chrysler both declined, vw because they sold fewer diesels, fiat chyrsler because they sold enough ram pick-ups to offset increased mpg of their smaller cars.

Ford's improved mpg tech should hit in 2019 (hybrid and phev SUVs, and a midsized truck - ranger with a turbo 4 cylinder engine (it won't be much better than the f150, but it will still be an improvement).

In the early 80s cars represented over 75% of the market, now they are less than 50%. Trucks didn't require today's safety so were much less expensive and lighter with smaller engines, new big trucks are much more efficient, but average pickup is the same, and about the same market share. The big difference is the SUV, which have become much more efficient than in the early 80s, but because of cafe rules got pushed and have taken serious market share from cars. The push up from cars to SUVs represent the main reason cafe has not increased greatly since the late 1980s. This likely will change in the next decade.

 

1) Yes, toyota's hybrids mean that it does not need to invest as much in current technology to meet cafe. Hybrids get a big bonus from the government. Toyota has just starting to add direct injection, but I expect that they can quickly add it to the whole line up. Cylinder deactivation only matters if you have 6 or more cylinders, toyota doesn't sell many of these vehicles, but you would think turbo charging to use a 4 instead of a 6 cylinder, and deactivation on 6 and 8 cylinders would be done. Toyota is behind here, and I don't understand it. Non-hybrid start stop and cvt, don't think they need that. If you want cvt and start stop, toyota has a hybrid for you. I don't think start-stop non-hybrid matters much outside of europe, and toyota doesn't have much market share there, and the hybrid system is so good, why would you want cvt without it :-( 7 or more gears, probably just a fad. If you have a proper engine most fuel savings are found going to 5, each additional gear adds less.

2) Variable valve timing and better lubricants were in just about all the cars before 2015, so its probably not included because there isn't a difference between manufacturers. Atkinson or miller cycle valving well, that and variable lift and agressive cooled egr, should probably be included, but the other technologies are more important.

 

I read somewhere a long time ago, so I can't pull up the citation instantaneously, that Toyota builds and sells quite a few more large GasHogs (like Stupid Utility Vehicles, Monstrous Trucks, and the like) than hybrids and small cars in the US. Perhaps that explains the numbers in the table above.