Honda ranks as the most fuel-efficient gas automaker in America.

      Adam Ismail

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      According to the EPA’s 2025 Automotive Trends Report, Honda boasts the highest real-world fleet average fuel economy among full-line automakers in the United States. It's important to focus on "fuel economy," as Tesla ranks higher when solely considering brands that produce electric vehicles.

      The report indicates that Honda achieved an average of 31.0 mpg across its lineup for the 2024 model year, the latest year with comprehensive data available. This figure is 3.8 mpg above the industry average and 1.2 mpg ahead of second-place Hyundai. Additionally, Honda experienced a 2.7-mpg increase from the 2023 to 2024 model years, significantly higher than the industry's average gain of 0.1 mpg, but preliminary estimates from the EPA suggest it may drop to 29.6 mpg in the 2025 model year. This would place it below Hyundai, BMW, and Toyota, although these are just estimates.

      The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

      Honda’s top ranking is partly due to the increasing share of hybrids in its U.S. sales, which surpassed 400,000 units for the first time in 2025. The Accord, Civic, and CR-V hybrids all achieved record sales for the third consecutive year, as noted in a Honda press release. Toyota also offers a robust hybrid lineup but includes less fuel-efficient models like the Tundra and Tacoma pickups, as well as the Sequoia, Land Cruiser, and 4Runner SUVs. In comparison, even the newly released Honda Prelude achieves 44 mpg combined.

      However, the same report revealed that Tesla recorded an equivalent of 117.1 mpg for its 2024 EV lineup. This represents a decrease of 3.4 mpg from the 2023 model year, yet the high starting number minimizes its impact on overall rankings. Such comparisons can be misleading, as there is always a degree of artificiality in assessing an EV's efficiency based on liquid fuel consumption that it does not actually use.

      This is why there's no need to be upset about Honda’s omission of Tesla in its version of the rankings shared in its release. A more concerning issue is Honda's reference to "electrified vehicles" for its hybrids while distinguishing between “electrified and gasoline vehicles,” as if those hybrids don't also utilize gasoline engines.

      For the past 50 years, improving fuel economy has been an effective method for lowering emissions, but electric vehicles surpass this as they generate no “tailpipe” emissions whatsoever. The same equivalency factor that allowed Tesla to reach a 117.1-mpg average also benefited Honda, owing to the inclusion of the Prologue in those calculations. However, with Honda having canceled its next-generation EVs, it will not benefit from that advantage in future years as other manufacturers continue to increase their EV production.