What is U.S. MPG?
What is U.S. MPG?
What Is MPG? MPG, or miles per gallon, is the distance, measured in miles, that a car can travel per gallon of fuel. MPG is also the primary measurement of a car’s fuel efficiency: The higher a car’s MPG, the more fuel efficient it is.
What is the current MPG standard?
For the current model year, standards enacted under Trump require the fleet of new vehicles to get just under 28 miles per gallon in real-world driving. The new requirements increase gas mileage by 8% per year for 2024 and 2025 year models and 10% for 2026 models.
Who regulates MPG?

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) regulates fuel economy standards, while the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulates GHG emissions.
What is MPG rating?
In simple terms, a car’s mpg – which stands for “miles per gallon” – denotes the number of miles it travels on one gallon of gas. A rating of 30 mpg means a vehicle can go 30 miles per gallon of fuel. There are three numbers to pay attention to when looking at a car’s EPA-rated mpg figures: city, highway, and combined.

Is 30mpg good?
A normal petrol engine just has trusty old gasoline and no fancy electric motors. While the Prius gets around 60 mpg, something that gets at least 30 mpg might classify as good.
Who sets MPG standards in the US?
Federal and state vehicle emissions and fuel economy standards are set by three agencies: the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), and the California Air Resources Board (CARB).
How does the EPA get fuel economy?
Fuel economy is measured under controlled conditions in a laboratory using a series of tests specified by federal law. Manufacturers test their own vehicles—usually pre-production prototypes—and report the results to EPA.
How do you calculate MPG?
Calculate
- Get the miles traveled from the trip odometer, or subtract the original odometer reading from the new one.
- Divide the miles traveled by the amount of gallons it took to refill the tank. The result will be your car’s average miles per gallon yield for that driving period.