US EPA Says Fuel Economy Variances ‘Unacceptably High’: Report

The American Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has reportedly warned carmakers not to understate official fuel figures during testing, with EPA testing often resulting in higher fuel consumption.

Speaking with industry paper Automotive News, the Agency's Christopher Grundler said the gap between EPA figures and those of the carmakers had grown “unacceptably high” in the past few years.

In 2007, the gap was 1.15 percent but by 2010, the gap had doubled to 2.25 percent. In one case, the gap was 14 percent, which would have seen a claimed figure of 10.0 l/100km become 11.4 l/100km.