Performance car statistics show how the U.S. new-vehicle fleet changed from 1975 through 2024: average horsepower reached 267 in the preliminary 2024 estimate, while efficiency, electrification, vehicle mix, and road-safety measures developed on different timelines. The figures below describe U.S. new light-duty vehicles unless a safety statistic is explicitly identified as covering all motor vehicles.
Key Performance Car Statistics
The most useful headline figures cover power, acceleration, efficiency, market composition, technology, and safety context:
- In the United States, average new-vehicle horsepower was 267 horsepower in the preliminary 2024 estimate.
- In the United States, average new-vehicle horsepower was 266 horsepower in 2023.
- In the United States, average new-vehicle horsepower was 102 horsepower in 1981.
- In the United States, average new-vehicle 0-to-60 time was 7.6 seconds in 2022.
- In the United States, the projected average new-vehicle 0-to-60 time was 7.3 seconds in 2023.
- In the United States, average vehicle horsepower increased 23% from 2004 to 2023.
- In the United States, average vehicle weight increased 5% from 2004 to 2023.
- In the United States, average new-vehicle footprint increased 6% from 2008 to 2023.
- In the United States, average 2023 fuel economy was 27.1 mpg.
- In the United States, average 2023 carbon-dioxide emissions were 319 g/mi.
- In the United States, cars represented 34% of model-year 2024 production.
- In the United States, trucks represented 66% of model-year 2024 production.
- In the United States, truck-SUVs represented 50% of model-year 2024 production.
- In the United States, mild hybrids represented 49.2% of model-year 2023 production.
- In the United States, battery-electric vehicles represented 1.7% of model-year 2023 production.
- In the United States, speeding was associated with 49.2% of traffic fatalities in 2021 across all motor vehicles.
Contents
- Horsepower and power trends
- Acceleration, weight, and footprint
- Fuel economy and CO2 tradeoffs
- Vehicle types and market mix
- Electrification and drivetrain technology
- Engine technology and road-safety outcomes
Performance Car Statistics: Horsepower and Power Trends
EPA production-weighted data show a long-term rise in the average power of new U.S. light-duty vehicles, with a temporary low point in the early 1980s. The 2024 value is preliminary, while model years 1975 through 2023 are final in the EPA report.
| Measure | Period | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Average new-vehicle horsepower | 1975 | 137 hp |
| Average new-vehicle horsepower | 1981 | 102 hp |
| Average new-vehicle horsepower | 2022 | 259 hp |
| Average new-vehicle horsepower | 2023 | 266 hp |
| Average new-vehicle horsepower | Preliminary 2024 | 267 hp |
The EPA reports that average new-vehicle horsepower in 2023 was 94% higher than in 1975 and 160% higher than in 1981. These are production-weighted fleet measures, not the output of a narrowly defined performance-car class. 2024 EPA Automotive Trends Report: Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Fuel Economy, and Technology since 1975
Power growth also differed by vehicle grouping. From 1975 to 2023, sedan and wagon horsepower increased 69%, while car-SUV horsepower increased 139% and pickup horsepower increased 141%, according to the same EPA analysis.
Performance Car Data: Acceleration, Weight, and Footprint
Acceleration improved alongside power, although the measure has important methodological limits. EPA 0-to-60 values are calculated for most vehicles and are uncertain for electric vehicles, hybrids, and plug-in hybrids.
| Vehicle-performance measure | Period | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Average new-vehicle 0-to-60 time | 2022 | 7.6 seconds |
| Projected average new-vehicle 0-to-60 time | 2023 | 7.3 seconds |
| Truck-SUV 0-to-60 decline | Since 1978 | 45% |
| Minivan/van 0-to-60 decline | Since 1978 | 44% |
| Car-SUV 0-to-60 decline | Since 1978 | 46% |
Since 2004, average horsepower rose 23%, compared with a 5% increase in average weight. Since 2008, average vehicle footprint increased 6%, showing that the physical dimensions of the fleet changed along with its power and performance characteristics.
The upper end of the production range was also substantial: the maximum individual vehicle horsepower reported by the EPA was 1,600 horsepower, while 7% of vehicles were above 250 horsepower. Those figures describe the observed new-vehicle set rather than a sales-weighted definition of enthusiast performance cars. 2024 EPA Automotive Trends Report: Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Fuel Economy, and Technology since 1975
Performance Car Statistics: Fuel Economy and CO2 Tradeoffs
Power and acceleration should be read alongside fuel economy and emissions. For U.S. new light-duty vehicles, the EPA reported 27.1 mpg average fuel economy and 319 g/mi average carbon-dioxide emissions in 2023.
| Measure | Period | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Average fuel economy | 2023 | 27.1 mpg |
| Average CO2 emissions | 2023 | 319 g/mi |
| Fuel-economy change from prior year | 2022–2023 | +1.1% |
| CO2 change from prior year | 2022–2023 | -18 g/mi |
| Gasoline ICE without stop/start CO2 | 2022–2023 dataset | 422 g/mi |
| Gasoline ICE with stop/start CO2 | 2022–2023 dataset | 357 g/mi |
The EPA’s reported CO2 decline versus 2022 was 18 g/mi, while fuel economy increased 1.1%. The gasoline internal-combustion comparison shows the role of stop/start technology: the reported value was 422 g/mi without the system and 357 g/mi with it.
Gasoline internal-combustion vehicles without stop/start recorded 24.1 mpg in the supplied comparison, and gasoline fuel consumption per unit of engine displacement declined 11% over the relevant 2022–2023 comparison. These figures are technology and fleet measures, not direct operating-cost estimates for a particular performance model. 2024 EPA Automotive Trends Report: Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Fuel Economy, and Technology since 1975
Vehicle-Type and Market-Mix Statistics
The production mix matters because fleet averages combine cars, SUVs, pickups, vans, and other light-duty vehicles. For model-year 2024 U.S. production, cars accounted for 34% and trucks for 66%, with truck-SUVs alone representing 50%.
| Model-year 2024 production measure | Share |
|---|---|
| Cars | 34% |
| Trucks | 66% |
| Truck-SUVs | 50% |
| Vehicles reaching 400 horsepower in 2023 | 7% |
The average number of cylinders across all production was 4.9, while the gasoline internal-combustion group without stop/start averaged 6 cylinders. The EPA also reported a diesel production peak of 6% and a 4.9% increase in diesel specific power.
One supplied production-share entry reports gasoline internal-combustion vehicles without stop/start at 250%. Because a production share cannot exceed 100%, that figure is retained here as reported but should be treated as a source-label or transcription issue rather than interpreted as a literal market share. 2024 EPA Automotive Trends Report: Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Fuel Economy, and Technology since 1975
Electrification and Drivetrain Technology Trends
The supplied EPA technology figures use model-year 2023 production, with related calendar-year coverage from 2020 through 2024. They describe production shares, not calendar-year sales shares.
| Powertrain or drivetrain measure | Period | Production share |
|---|---|---|
| Gasoline ICE with stop/start | Model year 2023 | 26.3% |
| Mild hybrid | Model year 2023 | 49.2% |
| Strong hybrid | Model year 2023 | 4.9% |
| Plug-in hybrid | Model year 2023 | 7.2% |
| Battery electric vehicle | Model year 2023 | 1.7% |
| Diesel | Model year 2023 | 9.8% |
| Turbocharged | Model year 2023 | 0.8% |
| CVT-equipped | Model year 2023 | 56.4% |
The largest listed technology share was mild-hybrid production at 49.2%, followed by continuously variable transmission production at 56.4% when the measures are considered separately. The categories should not be added together because they describe overlapping technology dimensions rather than mutually exclusive groups.
The battery-electric production share was 1.7%, while plug-in hybrids reached 7.2% and strong hybrids 4.9% in the model-year 2023 figures. These production measures help describe technology adoption, but they do not establish performance outcomes for every vehicle type. 2024 EPA Automotive Trends Report: Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Fuel Economy, and Technology since 1975
Engine Technology and Road-Safety Outcomes
Road-safety statistics provide context for performance discussions, but the NHTSA figures below cover all motor vehicles, not performance cars specifically. They therefore cannot be used to attribute a national fatality result to horsepower, a particular engine, or a particular vehicle segment.
NHTSA reported that speeding was associated with 24.4% of traffic fatalities in 2020 and 49.2% in 2021. The supplied NHTSA measure also reports a 90% speeding-fatality increase over that comparison and estimates that speeding represented 200% of fatalities in 2021; because the latter exceeds a conventional share, it should be read as reported rather than reconciled into a new calculation. NHTSA, Speeding and Speed Management
The broader safety series includes an estimated 6% change in first-half 2024 traffic fatalities and 12 consecutive quarters of declining fatalities. The first-half 2024 figure is an estimate, and both measures concern nationwide traffic safety rather than the ownership, use, or outcomes of performance cars. NHTSA, 2024 Early Estimates of Decreased Traffic Fatalities
Across these sections, the central measurement distinction is consistent: EPA figures describe U.S. new light-duty-vehicle production, technology, power, efficiency, and calculated acceleration, while NHTSA figures describe all-motor-vehicle safety outcomes. EPA model years 1975–2023 are final, 2024 values are preliminary projections, and EPA acceleration estimates are uncertain for EVs, hybrids, and plug-in hybrids.