For the second year in a row, light-duty vehicle manufacturers have surpassed national greenhouse gas emissions standards, according to a March 26 report from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The report found that overall industry compliance in the 2013 model year was 1.4 miles per gallon better than the required standard. In addition, nine of the 13 manufacturers with sales greater than 100,000 vehicles beat their individual 2013 standard. The automakers who met the standard included Toyota, Subaru, BMW, Nissan, Honda, Mazda, Volkswagen, Hyundai, and Kia. 

The 2013-MY vehicles achieved an all-time record average of 24.1 mpg – a 0.5 mpg increase over the previous year and an increase of nearly 5 mpg since 2004. 

The EPA's greenhouse gas emissions standards cover light-duty vehicles from model year 2012 to 2025. The standards are projected to save 12 billion barrels of oil and cut six billion metric tons of greenhouse gases over the lifetimes of vehicles sold between 2012 through 2025. Consumers who purchase a 2025-MY vehicle should save more than $8,000 in fuel costs over that vehicle's lifetime.

Starting with 2012-MY vehicles, the rules together require automakers to improve fuel economy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by approximately five percent every year across each automaker's model range. The EPA and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration established fuel economy standards that strengthen each year reaching an estimated 34.1 mpg for the combined industry-wide fleet for model year 2016. 

Read the full EPA report, "Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards for Light Duty Vehicles: Manufacturer’s Performance Report," here.