50 Years of EPA’s Automotive Trends Report
This year marks the 50th Anniversary of EPA’s Automotive Trends Report. EPA’s partnership with the automotive industry was established from the very beginning, as part of the Clean Air Act of 1970 that tasked the fledgling agency with the ambitious goal of reducing car pollution. Since 1975, the Trends Report has been there to provide data, insight, and transparency, covering every new car, SUV, and light duty truck produced for sale in the United States. The report also provides a detailed look at how automotive manufacturers are doing under EPA’s current light-duty greenhouse gas standards.
Over time, the Trends Report has evolved, adding new analysis to incorporate the significant changes to the light duty fleet over the past decades. The report's scope captures technological innovations, shifting consumer preferences, and new vehicle categories that weren't even imagined in 1975. By understanding our history and by setting a common baseline for where we are today, the Trends Report highlights what EPA and the automotive industry have accomplished and provides insight as we drive to the future, offering valuable data for researchers, industry analysts, and others.
trends over the past 50 years.
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Light Duty Vehicles Heading in the Right Direction
The good news -- New vehicle CO2 emissions and fuel economy have improved significantly over the past 50 years. In fact, cars have become twice as powerful and fuel efficient—proving that progress isn't a trade-off. The charts below are interactive so be sure to hover over data points to reveal specific values for each year.
Since 1975, vehicle miles per gallon in the United States has improved from 13.1 mpg to 27.1 mpg in 2023.
New vehicles in 2023 emitted less than half the CO2 per mile of 1975 models, with a 31% reduction in tailpipe emissions since 2004.
Vehicles are becoming cleaner and more efficient, featuring an increasing share of electric, hybrid, and stop-start technologies.
Interested in diving deeper? Visit the Automotive Trends Report to view highlights from the most recent annual Automotive Trends Report, download the full report, and use our interactive data tools to focus on your particular areas of interest.
Additional data and information:
- Regulations for Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Passenger Cars and Trucks provides information on current and past regulations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the light duty sector.
- Fueleconomy.gov provides downloadable fuel economy data for all light duty vehicles starting with model year 1974. EPA compiles and has oversight of the data.