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Energy Efficient Technologies

Energy efficient technologies are available now! Many currently available vehicles boast new, performance-enhancing, fuel-saving technologies that can save you money.

Engine Technologies

Technology Efficiency Increase
Cylinder deactivation saves fuel by "turning off" some cylinders when they are not needed. Up to 5%1
Turbochargers increase engine power. This allows manufacturers to use smaller engines without sacrificing performance or to increase performance without lowering fuel economy. Up to 8%1,2
Gasoline Direct Injection (GDI) delivers higher performance with lower fuel use. 1%1
Valve Timing & Lift Technologies improve engine efficiency by optimizing the flow of fuel and air into the engine for various engine speeds. 3%–4%1

Transmission Technologies

Technology Efficiency Increase
Additional gears allow your engine to operate at efficient speeds more often. 2%–4%1,3
Continuously Variable Transmissions (CVTs) have an infinite number of "gears," providing seamless acceleration and improved fuel economy. 3%–4%1,3
Dual-clutch transmissions, which are similar to manual transmissions but add automated shifting, suffer less energy loss than automatics. 3%–4%1,4

Hybrid Technologies

Technology Efficiency Increase
Start-Stop systems stop the engine when the car comes to a stop and automatically restart it to resume driving. This reduces wasted fuel from idling. 2%1
Mild hybrids use start-stop technologies and a small regenerative braking system that can recover and reuse small amounts of energy lost from braking. 3%–6%1
Hybrids use stop-start, regenerative braking, and larger electric motors and batteries to reduce fuel use, especially in stop-and-go driving. 27%–35%1

Other Technologies

Technology Efficiency Increase
Reducing vehicle weight means less energy is needed to propel the vehicle. Weight reduction and powertrain downsizing can significantly improve fuel economy. 1%–3% per 5% reduction in weight1
Low rolling resistance tires reduce the parasitic energy loss from tires rolling under load. Up to 4%1
View Data Sources…
  1. National Academy of Sciences. 2015. Cost, Effectiveness and Deployment of Fuel Economy Technologies for Light-Duty Vehicles. The National Academies Press, Washington, D.C. To be conservative, most values have been rounded down to the nearest percent.
  2. Assumes engine downsizing
  3. Compared to 4-speed transmission
  4. Six-speed dual clutch transmission compared to a 6-speed automatic (Table 5.14, p. 193).