LIGHT-DUTY VEHICLE SUMMARY: FIRST SIX MONTHS OF MODEL YEAR 1990

This summary provides the most recent fuel economy and market share data for the new light-duty vehicle fleet. Model year 1990 fuel economies are weighted based on the sales of the first six months of model year 1990 (from September 1989 to March 1990). Sales-weighted fuel economy of all new automobiles decreased in the first six months of model year 1990, from 28.0 mpg in model year 1989 to 27.7 mpg. The compact, midsize, and large size classes, which together claimed 75% of the new automobile market, each showed fuel economy declines of 0.4 mpg or more. Unlike automobiles, new 1990 light trucks showed an overall 0.4 mpg gain from model year 1989. This increase was primarily due to the increased fuel economy of the small van size class. In the first half of model year 1990, small van replaced small pickup as the second most popular light truck size class. Although the fuel economy of light trucks improved, the larger market share of automobiles in the light-duty vehicle market and the decreased fuel economy in automobiles resulted in an overall reduction of 0.2 mpg for the entire light-duty vehicle fleet in the first half of model year 1990. Also, in the first half of model year 1990, light trucks claimed more than 33% of the light-duty vehicle market - a considerable increase from the 19.8% share in 1976.