Detroit's Big Three automakers lag industry on fuel economy

2/2 © Reuters. FILE PHOTO: An electric vehicle (EV) fast charging station is seen in the parking lot of a Whole Foods Market in Austin, Texas, U.S., December 14, 2016. REUTERS/Mohammad Khursheed/File Photo/File Photo 2/2

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Detroit's Big Three automakers, General Motors (NYSE:GM), Ford Motor (NYSE:F) Co and Chrysler parent Stellantis lag other automakers in fuel economy performance as they sell a rising number of large trucks and SUVs, a government report released on Friday shows.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said fuel economy for new vehicles hit a high in the 2020 model year at 25.4 miles per gallon but added that projected industry fuel economy for the 2021 model year will decline to 25.3 mpg.

The three U.S. automakers have the lowest fleet wide fuel economy of 14 major car companies.

GM is projected to be the lowest of all automakers in 2021 with a fleet average of 21.5 mpg for all its vehicles, just behind Stellantis at 21.6 mpg, with Ford Motor Co at 22.7 mpg.

The report said since 2004, carbon dioxide emissions have decreased by 24% as fuel economy has improved by 32%.

The report said only Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Inc, Subaru (OTC:FUJHY) and Honda Motor met requirements without using credits. Automakers can either purchase credits or use credits earned from earlier model years.

The report shows GM, Daimler AG (DE:DAIGn)'s Mercedes and Stellantis all bought significant credits in 2020, while Tesla, Honda and Toyota Motor (NYSE:TM) all sold credits.

In August, the EPA proposed reversing the Trump-era loosening of vehicle emissions rules with a new plan to boost efficiency 10% in the 2023 model year, aiming for a fleet average of 52 mpg by 2026.

The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy said "automakers are producing cars that are barely more fuel efficient on average than what they sold a year ago."

Dan Becker, director of the Safe Climate Transport Campaign, said the report shows "auto companies have made sky-high promises to turn out clean cars, but the EPA’s report shows they have produced very few."

He said the 2020 improvement - just 1.9% over 2019 - showed that "with weak rules, automakers will keep pushing gas guzzlers, sticking consumers with high gas bills and plentiful pollution."

For 2020, GM and Ford both averaged 23 miles per gallon, while Stellantis averaged 21.3 mpg. Tesla, which makes only electric vehicles, led the industry, while Honda averaged 29.1 mpg, which was first among automakers building gas-powered vehicles.

The report showed that over the last five years, GM's and Ford's performances barely improved, while Stellantis' fell by 0.5 mpg.

Stellantis said on Friday it is investing more than $35 billion through 2025 to develop battery electric vehicles but said "consumer and manufacturing incentives and recharging infrastructure" are needed to move the market toward EVs.

The report also showed average vehicle weight in 2020 rose to another all-time high of 4,166 pounds, while average horsepower and size both also set records.