Fuel efficiency savings

Fuel efficiency savings refers to the overall savings based on fuel economy of a vehicle over time. This article examines the potential savings based on the fuel efficiency of a vehicle. Below is a table which contains several different vehicles from the same production year (2014). The table shows fuel economy, cost savings, and carbon dioxide emissions based on fuel economy. Notice that the lifetime savings of a highly efficient vehicle can be over $10,000!

mpg (US)	Example	km/L	L/year	kg CO2 produced	Savings from 24 mpg ($1.20/L)	5 year savings	10 year savings
18	Jeep Wrangler	7.58	2234	5,343	Costs an extra $668.40	-$3342	-$6,684
24	Toyota Camry V6	10.1	1677	4,011	0	0	0
30	Mini Cooper Clubman	12.63	1341	3,207	$403	$2,015	$4,030
38	Fiesta 3-cyl	16	1059	2,533	$741	$3705	$7,410
45	VW Golf TDI	18.95	894	2,403*	$939.60	$4,698	$9,396
60	Kia Rio 1.1 CDRi	25.26	671	1,603	$1,208.40	$6,042	$12,084
73.5	VW Golf TDI Bluemotion	30.94	547.6	1,309	$1,355.28	$6,776.40	$13,552.80
114**	Nissan Leaf	48	---	844	$1,588	$7,944	$15,888

*Diesel emits 2.6889kg CO₂ per liter

**MPGe

This table gives data on fuel use, CO₂ emissions, as well as savings vs. a 24 mpg car over one year, five years, and ten years. It also gives examples of a car that falls into each fuel consumption category. While the first five cars are available in North America, the last two heat engine-powered cars are only available in Europe. They are included in this list as proof that fuel consumption of their respective rates is possible using internal combustion, even if North American markets don't currently support them.

One of the interesting parts of the above data is fuel savings. Many people don't worry about fuel efficiency when buying a vehicle. An example of this is that according to Ford, only 39% of people who buy their trucks do so for work. Vehicles like the Jeep Wrangler are common, even simply as drive-around vehicles, that are not used for off-roading. The above chart shows that over the lifetime of the vehicle (10-year estimate), buying a Volkswagen Golf TDI instead of a Jeep Wrangler will save over $16,000. Add this to the fact that the MSRP of a Jeep Wrangler is around $24,000 and a Volkswagen Golf TDI is around $23,000, and with your savings, you could buy a new car after 10 years. That's right. Buying a 45 mpg car vs 18 mpg will save you enough money over the course of ten years to buy another car.

Not everyone that buys a truck or a jeep does so to use it as a daily driver, but if you are thinking about buying a new car, it's worth considering whether or not you actually need a car with bad fuel economy. If you can survive without a truck, the potential savings are tremendous.

The final car in the table is a Nissan Leaf, which is an electric vehicle. Because of this, neither the cost savings nor CO₂ savings formulas are accurate. I left in the cost savings as a benchmark, but CO₂ production varies, depending on the electricity source. There is a baseline amount of CO₂ emitted during car production, and this is higher than production for standard cars. If the electricity used in the car is from coal, and around 53% of the electricity produced in Alberta does, then the combination of higher production CO₂ and emissions from coal means there is no improvement over a standard car. However, if the electricity comes from hydropower, or another low emission source, then the emissions are less than half of an internal combustion car, per mile.

As for lifetime cost, while a lot of money gets saved on fuel costs, electricity isn't free, and the battery itself has to be replaced. According to Tesla Motors, their battery has to be replaced every five years, or 100,000 miles, and replacement is $12,000 if paid up front when buying the car, or $30,000 if bought directly from the manufacturer. While Nissan does not list battery replacement prices, their replacement program costs $100 per month, which adds $1,200 per year to the cost of driving the car. At 12¢/kWh, the annual electricity cost of the leaf is around $400. Add this to $100/month for battery replacement, and the yearly total is around $1600. While this about $500 less than the estimated fuel costs per year of a 24 mpg gasoline-powered car, it's actually about $300 more than the cost of running a 37 mpg Ford Focus. That said, if you drive a lot, that gap will shrink.