WASHINGTON, D.C. -

The number of fuel-efficient vehicles on U.S. highways is growing at a fast tick, according to industry analysts Baum & Associates.

In fact, the company reported that the first half of this year set the record for the highest-ever fuel efficiency for new passenger vehicles entering the U.S. market. 

Specifically, from January to June, the average fuel efficiency of new passenger vehicles was 23.8 MPG, improving by 1.1 MPG the record of 22.7 MPG set over the same six months in 2011, the company shared, using monthly fuel economy data from the University of Michigan and sales data from Wards Automotive.

"Thanks to a bumper crop of fuel efficient models in the most popular segments, consumers don’t have to choose between fuel efficiency and performance," said Alan Baum, principal of Baum & Associates.

"No matter what type of vehicle you want, midsize car, minivan, SUV or pickup truck, carmakers are now upping fuel efficiency performance across the board.  The new era of auto fuel efficiency is truly here,” he continued, noting that these fuel-efficient vehicles did not just include compact cars.

The company also shared three “key factors” that accounts for this growing fleet of gas sippers in the U.S. 

First, the company noted that there are more size options out there for shoppers to choose from than ever before, citing that the number of high fuel efficiency, high volume vehicle models has more than doubled since 2009 from 28 to 60.

And this includes, small cars, midsize cars and crossovers, making it easier for families in search of a larger unit to still pick up a gas sipper off the lot. 

The company also explained that in light of the growing number of options, consumers are buying larger fuel-efficient vehicles, not just small high-MPG cars. 

“In an important shift, the 2012 year-to-date increase in the market share of small cars and crossovers over the same period in 2011 is just 0.4 percentage points.  (By contrast, sales of small cars and crossovers jumped by a much larger 4.8 percentage points during the previous period of high gas price from 2007 to 2009.),” officials shared. 

“The important shift here is that consumers are embracing larger fuel-efficient vehicles,” they added.

Moreover, Baum & Associates also contend the industry has experienced a “perfect storm” of factors coinciding with the influx of new fuel-efficient models.

“Model year 2012 is the first year of a long-term federal program that requires an average laboratory rating of 35.5 mpg by 2016, equivalent to a label average of about 27.3 mpg,” the company shared.

“Final rules expected next month will raise the standards even further to an average laboratory rating of 54.5 mpg by 2025. In 2012, the increased availability of more fuel-efficient models to meet these standards coincided with high spring gas prices, creating a perfect storm of an ample fuel-efficient car supply in every segment just in time to meet surging consumer demand,” they asserted.

Wrapping up its commentary, the company noted that “based on the year-to-date sales data from model year 2012 (October 2011 to June 2012) as tracked by the University of Michigan, the U.S. fleet fuel efficiency average is poised to exceed government regulators’ predictions of a fleet wide average of 23.4 mpg for model year 2012.”