Hyundai: What's Your CAFE Number?

by Edward Niedermeyer

Published: February 1st, 2011

Hyundai’s sales were up 22 percent last month, driven by huge growth for Sonata (13,261 units) and Elantra (9,659 units). But, rather than spend the whole press release [ PDF here] trumpeting sales data alone, Hyundai upped the transparency bar on its competitors by announcing it would

begin reporting monthly sales-weighted Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) results to provide journalists, policy-makers and consumers with additional data to promote more meaningful dialogue on the feasibility of future fuel efficiency targets for the industry…

For January 2011, Hyundai’s sales-weighted CAFE level was 34.7 miles per gallon, with a model year mix for the month of 86 percent 2011 and 14 percent 2010 model year vehicles. This is a significant increase from Hyundai’s most recent official CAFE level for the 2009 model year of 31.7 mpg.

By publishing both its fleet mix (12%) and CAFE average, Hyundai is proving that marketing is a million times easier when the facts fit the message. At 34.7 CAFE, Hyundai is a single MPG away from complying with the 35.5 MPG 2016 proposed CAFE standard, and just a whisker away from meeting its corporate commitment to meet 35 MPG fleet by 2015. Which is all fine and dandy, but as a blog that’s forever digging for obscure information about the car industry, we’re even more excited about Hyundai’s decision to take the lead on transparency. TTAC encourages all automakers to release both sales-weighted CAFE numbers and full fleet-mix numbers (and any other relevant data) with their monthly sales reports. The truth, as we say around here, must out! [Hyundai and Kia sales breakouts after the jump]

#FuelEconomy #PR #Sales

Edward Niedermeyer

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4 of 16 comments

Jerome10 on Feb 02, 2011

Hyundai meeting the requirement just means the government will think 1) CAFE works and is a good solution, and 2) that it will be just as easy for full-line makers such as Ford, GM, Toyota, Chrysler, Nissan etc to meet these requirements. It will only encourage them to push the numbers even higher.

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Philadlj on Feb 02, 2011

I don't give two Scheißes about their CAFE transparency, when they won't separate Genesis Sedan and Coupe sales numbers. I'll resist the urge to type this in all caps, but Hyundai: They're totally separate models. Knock off the batching, already.

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- Bertel Schmitt on Feb 02, 2011
  
  Scheiße doesn't have a plural. Lots of shit remains shit ...
  
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- Philadlj on Feb 02, 2011
  Dually noted. ;)
  
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