Slight gain in fuel efficiency reported

WASHINGTON — Honda Motor posted the highest average fuel economy for 2005 vehicles, but automakers made little progress on fuel efficiency, the government reported yesterday.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said in its annual findings that the estimated average fuel economy for 2005 model-year vehicles was 21 miles per gallon, a fleetwide average that increased 0.2 mpg from the previous year.

It was 5 percent below the peak of 22.1 mpg in 1987, the EPA said.

Since 1997, the fleetwide average for U.S. automakers' light-duty vehicles has remained fairly consistent, ranging between 20.6 mpg and 21 mpg.

The fuel economy for cars remained unchanged for the third straight year at 24.7 mpg. Light trucks, which include pickups, sport-utility vehicles and minivans, improved to 18.2 mpg, their highest average since the late 1980s.

Honda led automakers with a fleet average of 25.1 mpg, followed by Toyota Motor with 23.5 mpg. Ford Motor posted the lowest average at 19.5 mpg, but that represented an increase of 0.4 mpg over the previous model year.

DaimlerChrysler was rated at 19.8 mpg with its fleet, and General Motors was rated at 20.5 mpg. Volkswagen fell to 23.4 mpg, a drop of 0.4 mpg.

The fuel-economy figures are important to consumers, with gasoline prices averaging more than $2 a gallon at the pump.

Light-duty vehicles account for about 40 percent of U.S. oil consumption.