Gallons per 100 miles (US) to Liters per 10 km
gal/100mi (US)
L/10km
Conversion History
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Quick Reference Table (Gallons per 100 miles (US) to Liters per 10 km)
| Gallons per 100 miles (US) (gal/100mi (US)) | Liters per 10 km (L/10km) |
|---|---|
| 1.5 | 283.42913833200000000141714569166 |
| 2 | 212.571853749 |
| 2.5 | 170.0574829992 |
| 3 | 141.71456916599999999858285430834 |
| 4 | 106.2859268745 |
| 5 | 85.0287414996 |
| 6.7 | 63.45428470119402985093663151082 |
About Gallons per 100 miles (US) (gal/100mi (US))
Gallons per 100 miles (US) — abbreviated gal/100mi — is a consumption metric, the American analogue to the European L/100km standard. Lower is better. It is the mathematical inverse of US mpg multiplied by 100. The US EPA introduced the GPM metric alongside mpg to help consumers make better fuel economy comparisons: because mpg is non-linear, the true fuel saving from improving a 15 mpg truck to 20 mpg (1.67 gal/100mi saved) is far larger than improving a 40 mpg car to 50 mpg (0.5 gal/100mi saved). GPM makes this intuitively clear by expressing absolute consumption rather than efficiency.
A 25 mpg family sedan consumes 4 gal/100mi. A 50 mpg hybrid uses only 2 gal/100mi — saving as much fuel per mile as the difference from 10 to 50 mpg on a low-efficiency vehicle.
About Liters per 10 km (L/10km)
Liters per 10 kilometers (L/10km) is a mid-scale fuel consumption unit used primarily in Japan and some East Asian markets as a more readable alternative to L/km. A typical Japanese passenger car achieves 0.6–0.8 L/10km, presenting numbers in a familiar single-digit range. The unit appears on Japanese fuel economy test results and in Asian automotive media. It is exactly one-tenth of the L/100km figure: a European rating of 7 L/100km equals 0.7 L/10km. The unit avoids the leading zeros of L/km while remaining more precise than L/100km for shorter reference distances.
A fuel-efficient kei car achieves around 0.4–0.5 L/10km. A standard Japanese family sedan typically rates at 0.7–0.8 L/10km on the JC08 test cycle.
Gallons per 100 miles (US) – Frequently Asked Questions
Why did the EPA start showing gallons per 100 miles on window stickers?
Research by Duke University professors showed that mpg systematically misleads consumers about fuel savings. The EPA added gal/100mi to Monroney stickers starting in 2013 to give buyers a linear, comparable number. A 1 gal/100mi difference always represents the same fuel saving regardless of starting point.
How does gal/100mi help compare plug-in hybrids that switch between fuel and electricity?
Plug-in hybrids complicate mpg because they drive some miles on electricity and some on petrol. Gal/100mi lets you weight the two modes transparently: if a PHEV uses 0 gallons for its first 40 electric miles and 2.5 gal/100mi after that, fleet managers can model exact fuel costs for any commute length. The EPA's MPGe tries to do something similar for consumers, but gal/100mi is more intuitive for mixed-mode budgeting.
What gal/100mi does the average American car use?
The average new car in the US uses about 3–4 gal/100mi (25–33 mpg). Full-size trucks sit around 5–7 gal/100mi, while hybrids achieve 1.5–2.5 gal/100mi. Electric vehicles show 0 gal/100mi but have a separate kWh/100mi rating.
Why do long-haul trucking companies obsess over fractions of a gal/100mi?
A Class 8 semi averages about 6.5 gal/100mi and covers 100,000+ miles per year — roughly 6,500 gallons annually. Shaving just 0.3 gal/100mi through aerodynamic fairings, low-rolling-resistance tires, or driver coaching saves ~300 gallons per truck per year. Across a 5,000-truck fleet, that is 1.5 million gallons saved — worth over $5 million at US diesel prices. At that scale, every tenth of a gal/100mi is a budget line item.
Why do Europeans never use gal/100mi even though they use L/100km?
Europeans adopted L/100km as their native metric from the start, so there was never a need for an alternative. Gal/100mi was invented specifically to fix the mpg illusion problem in the US. Europeans already had the "right" unit — they just used metric volumes and distances.
Liters per 10 km – Frequently Asked Questions
Why does Japan use L/10km instead of L/100km like Europe?
Japan traditionally used km/L as its primary fuel economy metric, and L/10km emerged as a convenient consumption-based complement at a scale that keeps numbers in a comfortable single-digit range for Japanese commuting distances. European L/100km values feel oversized for Japan, where average daily drives are shorter.
Why are Japanese highway speed limits lower and how does that affect fuel figures?
Most Japanese expressways cap at 100–120 km/h, well below the 130 km/h common in Europe or the 120+ km/h effective speed on US interstates. Aerodynamic drag rises with the square of speed, so Japan's lower cruising speeds significantly reduce fuel consumption at highway pace. This is one reason Japanese test-cycle numbers look so good — the driving profile genuinely reflects slower, more fuel-friendly conditions.
What is a good L/10km figure for a kei car?
A modern kei car (660cc engine) typically achieves 0.4–0.55 L/10km, equivalent to 4–5.5 L/100km. The Suzuki Alto has historically been one of the best performers, dipping below 0.4 L/10km on the lenient JC08 test cycle.
Is L/10km used on Japanese fuel economy stickers?
Not directly — Japanese window stickers display km/L as the primary metric. However, L/10km appears in some technical publications and comparison tools because it bridges the gap between the Japanese km/L convention and the European L/100km standard.
How does the JC08 test cycle compare to WLTP for L/10km ratings?
JC08 results are typically 10–20% more optimistic than WLTP because JC08 uses lower speeds and gentler acceleration profiles. A car rated 0.5 L/10km on JC08 might realistically achieve 0.6 L/10km on the more demanding WLTP cycle.