According to the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, the average fuel economy of new light vehicles sold in the U.S. in April rose to 25.3 mpg, up 0.1 mpg from 25.2 mpg in March 2017. While the month-to-month increase is small, the average fuel economy has risen by 5.2 mpg since October 2007, when the study began.
The rise in average fuel economy came amid a slight increase in fuel prices. According to AAA, the average price of a gallon of regular gasoline nationally was nearly $2.37 in recent weeks, up from $2.22 in May 2016.