Oct 9, 2014, 10:12am ET

U.S. Fuel economy reaches all-time high

Mazda and Nissan take top honors in EPA report.

According to a new report from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the average fuel economy of new light vehicles sold in the United States in 2013 reached an all-time high of 24.1 miles per gallon, up 0.5 mpg from 2012 and up 5 mpg since 2004.

The report credits the more widespread adoption of turbocharging, gasoline direct injection and high-tech transmissions for the record-setting industry average.

SUVs showed the most improvement of any of the classes tracked in the report, with car-based SUVs improving from an average of 23.4 mpg in 2012 to 24.5 in 2013 and truck-based SUVs improving from 20 to 20.9.

Mazda took home the honor of most efficient and least-polluting brand, marking a significant turn-around for the "zoom-zoom" manufacturer which just a few years ago sold some of the least efficient small cars on the market. Nissan was recognized for being the most improved manufacturer both in efficiency and greenhouse emissions.

The full report, which tracks trends from 1975 through 2014 (current-year data are not yet complete as average fuel economy is weighted by volume), is available in the EPA newsroom.