US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Automotive Trends Report revealed that Tesla generated the lowest emissions and the highest fuel economy last year, as reported by InsideEVs.
Model
Despite Tesla’s unbeatable dominance as a 100% electric vehicle brand, several individual EVs have also impressed the industry through the years.
For instance, Tesla Model 3 ranked first in the 2020 and 2021 lists. However, it is worth noting that Germany’s BMW i3 and South Korea’s Hyundai Ioniq 5 have also dominated before.
Specifically, the BMW i3 consecutively topped the list in 2014, 2015, and 2016. Meanwhile, the Hyundai Ioniq 5 earned the honor in 2017, 2018, and 2019.
Interestingly, the 2022 rankings may feature Lucid Air, with the highest fuel economy at the top spot.
Brand
Stellantis has consistently reported the lowest fuel economy figures since 2012, as the Tweet above shows. That said, it would not come as a surprise if the Franco-Italian-American automaker lands at the bottom again this year.
Remarkably, Tesla, which has been in the electric vehicle industry for many years already, is expected to maintain its line-up position again in 2022.
Meanwhile, if you are looking for EV startups like Rivian and Fisker on the list, they must complete their portfolio first to join the ranking. Furthermore, several all-electric vehicles from established automakers have only lately hit the market. Therefore, they would not be listed in the report’s rankings until the following year.
The following brands are listed in alphabetical order in the EPA’s 2022 Automotive Trends Report rather than being ranked:
As seen at the bottom left corner of the photo above, the real-world efficiency for all automakers for the three years displayed averages roughly 26 mpg. It is worth noting that Tesla is the only automaker with triple-digit fuel efficiency.
Remarkably, Tesla averages about 120 MPGe across its whole portfolio, which is about five times higher than the overall average.
On the other hand, the overall CO2 emissions per mile are far more than 300 grams. Interestingly, the report constantly displays 0 for Tesla’s CO2 output since its vehicles are completely electric-driven.
Without a doubt, Tesla has ignited the uptake of electric vehicles. Therefore, it is unsurprising that the brand consistently tops the EPA rankings. However, it will be interesting to see if Lucid Air can outperform Tesla EVs this year.
