Average Fuel Economy for New Vehicle Transactions Still at Record Levels for 3rd Consecutive Month

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SANTA MONICA, Calif., June 11, 2013 -- TrueCar, the automotive pricing information and analysis company that provides new car pricing trends and forecasting, today announced that fuel economy numbers from May light vehicle auto sales indicate TrueMPG remain steady at 23.7 mpg, remaining at record levels for industry fuel economy. Year-over-year, average fuel economy saw a 0.6 mpg increase, led by Nissan and Chrysler, which both enjoyed better than 1.2 MPG gains in their average fuel economy numbers.

"Chrysler and Nissan are both benefiting from the success of their more fuel-efficient models such as the Dart, Rogue and Sentra," said Jesse Toprak, senior analyst for TrueCar. "Even though the market share for large trucks has been increasing in recent months, the higher fuel efficiency of the new pickups is offsetting what would have been a decrease in overall MPG figures."

TrueMPG is a data-rich method to compare monthly fuel economy averages by brand, manufacturer, origin and vehicle segments using Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ratings and actual monthly automotive sales-weighted information.  TrueCar.com seeks to provide average fuel economy transparency by creating an alternative view to Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) ratings.  TrueMPG helps keep in perspective what each manufacturer's average miles per gallon per car sold, computed monthly and annually, by using the EPA's window sticker ratings.

TrueMPG computes monthly average fuel economy by brand, manufacturer, origin and vehicle segments by using actual sales data for the current month. Calculations start at the trim level, taking into account EPA fuel economy data, including engine size and drivetrain that affect a vehicle's MPG ratings. The sales share from each trim level is then calculated to create an average for each model.  Brand level data is calculated by the sales share of each model and the manufacturer data is then based on the share of each brand, providing an accurate and completely data-driven picture of actual measured MPGs in the marketplace. TrueCar utilizes the EPA's average fuel economy rating using 45 percent highway and 55 percent city driving behavior.

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This press release and the information contained herein is for noncommercial use on "as-is, as available" basis and may be used for informational purposes only.  TrueCar makes no representations or warranties, express or implied, with respect to the information contained in this press release and the results of the use of such information, including without limitation, the implied warranty of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and non-infringement.  The information contained in this press release may include technical inaccuracies or typographical errors.  Neither TrueCar nor any of its parents, subsidiaries, affiliates or respective partners, officers, or directors, employees or agents shall be held liable for any damages, whether direct, incidental, indirect, special or consequential, including without limitation lost revenues or lost profits, arising from or in connection with your use or reliance on the information presented in this press release.

Below is how the top eight manufacturers fared comparing overall MPG, broken out by car and truck MPG:

According to TrueCar.com, the TrueMPG^™ for vehicles sold by U.S. manufacturers averaged 21.9 MPG in May 2013, up from 21.3 MPG in May 2012. European manufacturers increased their average fuel economy for vehicles sold from 23.2 MPG in 2012 to 23.4 MPG; Japanese manufacturers increased their average fuel economy from 24.6 MPG last year to 25.4 MPG; and South Korean manufacturers' average fuel economy increased from 26.9 MPG in May 2012 to 27.2 last month.

Below is a snapshot of a few vehicle segments and how they compare from May 2013 versus May 2012:

SOURCE TrueCar, Inc.