Office of Transportation and Air Quality

EPA-420-F-13-009

May 2011 (Rev 9/2012)

Understanding the New Fuel Economy 

and Environment Labels

What new information do these labels provide that will benefit me as a new car 

shopper? 

The new labels will for the first time provide:

•	 New ways to compare energy use and cost between new-technology cars that 

use electricity and conventional cars that are gasoline-powered. 

•	 Useful estimates on how much consumers will save or spend on fuel over the 

next five years compared to the average new vehicle. 

•	 Easy-to-read ratings of how a model compares to all others for smog emissions 

and emissions of pollution that contribute to climate change. 

•	 An estimate of how much fuel or electricity it takes to drive 100 miles. 

•	 Information on the driving range and charging time of an electric vehicle. 

•	 A QR Code® that will allow users of smartphones to access online information about how various models compare on fuel economy and other environmental and energy factors. 

In addition, a new interactive tool at www.fueleconomy.gov will allow drivers to 

enter their zip code and estimate the greenhouse gas emissions from charging and 

driving a plug-in hybrid or all-electric car where they live. The site also enables drivers 

of all types of vehicles to enter personalized information like local gas prices along 

with individual driving habits to get the best possible cost and energy-use estimates. 

How do the labels make it possible to compare energy costs between a gas vehicle 

and costs for plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles? 

For both conventional gasoline and advanced technology vehicles, the fuel economy 

and environment labels will include information on the annual cost to power the 

vehicle with gasoline (or electricity). In fact, such information is required by law to 

Questions and Answers

appear on the label. 
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Also, for both types of vehicles, the label shows how much less or more it would cost to fuel that 

particular vehicle over the next five years compared to the average new vehicle. This information highlights the importance of considering the cost to fuel the vehicle, not just the vehicle 

up-front costs, when purchasing a vehicle.

Why are EPA and NHTSA revising the label?

Three main reasons: 

•	 We are committed to empowering consumers to make informed choices. When the new 

fuel economy and environment labels start to appear in showrooms and online over the 

next year, shoppers will have more information than ever at their fingertips to help save 

money on fuel and cut down on harmful pollution.

•	 With the growing numbers of advanced technology cars, especially electric vehicles 

(EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), the current labels are becoming 

outdated. We are improving the labels to provide consumers with the specialized information they need about advanced technology vehicles from the new labels as well as 

information to compare among all vehicle technology types.

•	 The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 required DOT and EPA to include 

additional information on the label, including ratings to allow comparisons specifically 

among fuel economy, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and smog-forming pollutants. 

Thus, the new labels will include numeric scales that enable consumers to easily see how 

a particular vehicle compares to all others. 

Where and when will I find the new label? 

Consumers will see the new labels in showrooms early next year, when 2013 models begin arriving. Automakers may also voluntarily adopt the new labels earlier for model year 2012 vehicles.

Most manufacturers place the fuel economy and environment label within a larger label (known 

as the “Monroney” label) that contains the Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price of the vehicle, 

NHTSA safety ratings, and other information.

I noticed a barcode on the label. Is that for use by smartphone? And what if I don’t own one?

For consumers’ convenience, the new labels include a QR Code® in the lower right corner. 

Consumers who are looking for a vehicle at a dealership will be able to scan the QR Code® 

from any fuel economy and environment label using their smartphone, provided they have 

downloaded a scanner app.

The QR Code® will provide a link to helpful tools and information about that particular 

vehicle. The same tools and information will be available to everyone on www.fueleconomy.gov. 
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The cost of gasoline where I live is different than what is used on the label. How can I get 

more personalized information that reflects my real costs? 

Consumers will soon be able to use their smartphone at the dealership or go to the website 

www.fueleconomy.gov to estimate fuel costs based on their individual driving habits and the 

current price of gasoline and electricity where they live.

What does the 5-year fuel cost savings estimate mean? 

It shows how much less or more it would cost to fuel this vehicle over the next five years compared to the average vehicle. This is based on the assumption of 15,000 miles traveled per year 

and DOE projections of fuel prices in that model year. 

What is gallons/100 miles? Why are EPA and NHTSA adding gallons/100 miles to the labels?

Miles per gallon (mpg) is required by law for fuel economy labels. It has appeared on the label 

for several decades, and it is well understood by consumers. However, assessing fuel efficiency 

this way can be potentially misleading to consumers, particularly when it is used as a proxy for 

fuel costs, as it often is. A one mile per gallon improvement at low mpg levels provides a much 

greater reduction in fuel consumption (and therefore savings on fuel costs) than a one mpg improvement at high mpg levels. For instance, for a vehicle driven 15,000 miles per year, choosing 

an 11 mpg vehicle over a 10 mpg vehicle saves about 136 gallons per year, while the savings for 

choosing a 36 mpg vehicle over one that gets 35 mpg saves about 12 gallons per year.

The gallons/100 miles numbers, however, relate directly to the amount of fuel used and are 

therefore more useful for consumers in comparing both low mpg and high mpg vehicles.

What does the 1-10 fuel economy and GHG rating mean? How will EPA and NHTSA 

determine which number to assign to each vehicle? 

The new label assigns each vehicle a rating from 1 (worst) to 10 (best) for fuel economy and 

greenhouse gas emissions (i.e., how much carbon dioxide its tailpipe emits each mile), as shown 

below. Consumers may note that higher fuel economy is associated with a better GHG emissions 

profile.

In effect there are two ratings that apply to each vehicle – one for fuel economy and one for 

greenhouse gas emissions – but in practice most vehicles will display only one rating. This is 

because carbon dioxide (CO2

) emissions are directly related to the amount of fuel consumed. 

This relationship varies from fuel to fuel, but both rating systems are based on gasoline vehicles, 

meaning that gasoline vehicles get the same rating for fuel economy and for greenhouse gas 

emissions. In cases where the fuel economy performance and greenhouse gas emissions do not 

yield the same rating, the rating bar will display two pointers.
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One-to-ten fuel economy and GHG Rating 

Rating MPG CO2(g/mile)

10 38+ 0-236

9 31-37 237-290

8 27-30 291-334

7 23-26 335-394

6 22 395-412

5 19-21 413-479

4 17-18 480-538

3 15-16 539-612

2 13-14 613-710

1 0-12 711+

The fuel economy and CO2 ranges associated with each rating will be determined annually. 

Because of NHTSA’s Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards and EPA’s GHG emissions 

standards, the average values are expected to improve in the years ahead. Unless a vehicle 

model increases its fuel economy and reduces its rate of CO2 emissions, its ratings could 

gradually drop. 

I heard that electric vehicles impact the environment just as much as gasoline vehicles 

because of the pollution emitted during electricity production If that’s true, why do the 

new labels give them a 10 (best) rating for GHG emissions? 

Electric vehicles (EVs) get a “10” because the GHG emissions ratings on the label are based on 

tailpipe CO2 levels, and EVs emit zero tailpipe CO2 emissions. The label is based on tailpipe 

CO2 emissions because, like other consumer labels, it is based on the product that the consumer 

is comparing and buying, not the overall vehicle-fuel system. Neither the automaker nor the 

consumer has any control over fuel production. 

Most forms of electricity generation do emit significant amounts of CO2 at the powerplant. 

However, even accounting for these “upstream” emissions, in most regions of the country, EVs 

are responsible for lower GHG levels than almost all comparable gasoline vehicles. 

Interested consumers can find information about upstream GHG emissions on 

www.fueleconomy.gov. The site includes a calculator tool that consumers can use to estimate 

GHG emissions associated with an EV or PHEV, including emissions from the production and 

distribution of the electricity used to charge the vehicle where they live.

What is MPGe? 

MPGe, or miles per gallon gasoline equivalent, conveys the energy consumption of a non--

gasoline vehicle in terms of how many miles the vehicle could go on an amount of fuel that 

has the equivalent energy content as a gallon of gasoline. For example, a gallon of gasoline has 
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the energy equivalent of 33.7 kilowatt-hours of electricity. An electric vehicle that uses 33.7 

kilowatt-hours to drive 100 miles will use the energy equivalent of one gallon of gasoline and, 

therefore, would have an MPGe of 100 miles per gallon of gasoline equivalent.

Do you have labels for other types of advanced technology cars besides electric vehicles and 

plug-in hybrid electric vehicles? 

Yes. We also developed labels for: 

•	 compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles, 

•	 E85 flexible fuel vehicles (FFVs), and 

•	 hydrogen fuel cell vehicles (FCVs).

Click here to view the labels for these vehicles.

Does this regulation make any changes to the recent joint EPA/NHTSA program that set 

the first ever vehicle GHG emissions and CAFE standards? 

No. However, if you wish to learn about the GHG emissions and CAFE fuel economy standards, 

click here. 

Did the regulation make changes to how EPA derives the mpg estimates? 

Yes, this rule also finalizes test procedures for new advanced technology vehicles such as electric 

vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles.

How did you decide upon this format for the label among the options that you were considering.

In developing the final label, we took into account what the law requires, findings from our 

extensive consumer research, implementation issues, and comments from a wide variety of 

stakeholders. More than 50 organizations, including auto manufacturers and dealers, state and 

local governments, environmental groups, consumer organizations, and other non-governmental 

organizations provided detailed comments. Over 6,000 private citizens also submitted comments. 

Comments were about evenly split in support of concepts like a letter grade or other forms of 

simple ratings. To be responsive to both sets of commenters, the labels contain new features such 

as rating systems in the form of a one-to-ten scale and an estimate of relative fuel cost savings 

over five years, as well as prominent displays of more traditional elements such as mpg.