MPGe is miles per gallon of gasoline equivalent. It is how far a car goes on a quantity of fuel that holds the same energy as one US gallon of gasoline. For electricity, the EPA treats that gallon as 33.7 kWh (the regulation writes 33.705). Use 33.7 kWh to drive 100 miles and the label prints 100 MPGe. It is not gasoline. It is not range. It is an energy translation.
This catalog does not store EPA stickers. It stores WLTP Wh/km. Snapshot 5 September 2026: 1,352 available rows with an efficiency figure, average 186.7 Wh/km. Converted with the EPA consumer constant, that average is about 112 MPGe-equivalent. That number is arithmetic on our file. It is not a Monroney label.
Table of Contents
- What MPGe means
- How MPGe is calculated
- MPGe vs MPG
- What the catalog converts
- Why this is not an EPA sticker
- Higher MPGe is not more range
- Quick answers
- Sources
What MPGe means
fueleconomy.gov’s label help is the plain sentence: MPGe is the miles the vehicle can go using a quantity of fuel with the same energy content as a gallon of gasoline. The unit exists because electricity is not sold in gallons. Congress still asked for miles per “gallon of gasoline (or equivalent amount of other fuel).” The 2011 EPA/NHTSA label rule is how that sentence landed on the window sticker.
40 CFR 600.002 fixes the equivalence: one gallon of gasoline = 33.705 kWh of electricity. EPA’s consumer explainer (updated 1 July 2026) rounds that to 33.7 kWh and works the example: 33.7 kWh for 100 miles = 100 MPGe. The 33.705 figure is older than the sticker. DOE wrote it in 2000 as 115,000 Btu/gal divided by 3.412 Btu/Wh (65 FR 36986).
MPGe on a BEV is one number family: city, highway, and combined. Combined is 55% city and 45% highway, from the unrounded city and highway values (40 CFR 600.210-12). A plug-in hybrid prints MPGe for the charge-depleting miles and mpg for the gasoline miles. A regular hybrid prints mpg only. That last split is where some dealer pages go wrong.
How MPGe is calculated
The regulation does not print a single “MPGe = …” line. It defines the gallon equivalent, measures AC watt-hours into the charger, and converts watt-hours per mile into miles per gasoline gallon equivalent. Algebra on those two facts:
MPGe = 33.705 ÷ (kWh per mile) = 3,370.5 ÷ (kWh per 100 miles).
EPA’s rounded classroom version is the one you will see on explainers: 33.7 kWh / 100 miles = 100 MPGe. kWh/100 miles on the label is the consumption figure. It maps to kilowatt-hours you buy. MPGe is that consumption, flipped and scaled so it sits next to a gasoline mpg.
The measurement boundary is the wall. EPA says label MPGe includes charging losses for Level 2 AC: the cable and the onboard charger. Energy is counted at the outlet, not only at the battery. Upstream generation and transmission stay out, the same way a gasoline mpg ignores the refinery. The 2017 EPA EV test note and 40 CFR 600.116-12 both say to meter AC watt-hours so charger inefficiency is in the result.
Many labels also apply a 0.7 adjustment to two-cycle lab results so the sticker is closer to five-cycle / real-world use. That haircut is in the CFR. It is not in our Wh/km cell.
MPGe vs MPG
MPG is miles per gallon of the fuel in the tank. MPGe is miles per gallon-equivalent of energy. A 120 MPGe EV did not travel 120 miles on a gallon of gasoline. It used the energy of one gasoline gallon — 33.7 kWh — to go 120 miles.
That is why a 120 MPGe car is not “three times cheaper than a 40 mpg car” at every post. Gasoline and electricity have different prices, taxes, and public-DC premiums. kWh times a tariff is the bill. Charging cost and the TCO calculator are money. MPGe is energy.
PHEVs hold both units on one sticker: MPGe while the pack is doing the work, mpg when the engine is. Comparing two PHEVs on gasoline mpg alone throws away the electric number. Comparing them on MPGe alone throws away the gasoline number. Use the one that matches the trip.
What the catalog converts
This file’s efficiency cell is Wh/km on the WLTP cycle. We do not have EPA city, highway, or combined MPGe. The conversion below uses 33.7 kWh/gal and 1.609344 km per mile:
MPGe-equivalent ≈ 33.7 ÷ (Wh/km × 1.609344 ÷ 1,000).
Available rows with a positive efficiency figure, 5 September 2026:
| Row | Wh/km (WLTP) | kWh/100 mi (from Wh/km) | MPGe-equivalent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Catalog average (n=1,352) | 186.7 | 30.1 | 112 |
| Hyundai Ioniq 6 63 kWh RWD (MY26) | 143 | 23.0 | 146 |
| Tesla Model 3 Long Range AWD | 147 | 23.7 | 142 |
| Dacia Spring Electric 45 | 152 | 24.5 | 138 |
| Lucid Air Grand Touring (MY25–26) | 163 | 26.2 | 128 |
The Lucid has the long WLTP range in that set (720 km) and the weaker MPGe-equivalent. Efficiency and range are different jobs. Pack size is the tank. Wh/km is how fast you empty it. kW vs kWh is the other pair people mash together. Electric car efficiency stays in Wh/km and kWh/100 km if you do not need the US sticker unit.
Those rows are in the catalog. Put two side by side in the comparison tool if the decision is the car, not the unit.
Why this is not an EPA sticker
An EPA MPGe has to survive US city and highway cycles (or the five-cycle set), the 0.7 adjustment when that path is used, and an AC recharge measurement that includes the charger. WLTP is a different legal procedure. EPA publishes no official WLTP-to-EPA factor. We do not invent one.
Our Wh/km cell is also closer to a drive-cycle consumption figure than to EPA’s wall meter. If the catalog number is battery-side, converting it to MPGe overstates a US label, because the sticker still has to pay for charging losses. Treat 112 as “this is what 186.7 Wh/km looks like in MPGe clothing,” not as “the average EV in this file is a 112 MPGe EPA car.”
CAFE uses a different electricity-to-petroleum factor (tens of thousands of watt-hours per gallon). That number is for fleet compliance. It is not the window sticker. Do not mix it with 33.7.
Higher MPGe is not more range
fueleconomy.gov is blunt: you cannot compute range from fuel economy and battery capacity, because cars do not use the whole pack. Range is a separate depletion test. A small, efficient hatch can print a high MPGe and a short range. A large sedan can print a middling MPGe and a long range. The Lucid and the Spring in the table are that lesson.
City MPGe on EVs is often higher than highway MPGe. Regenerative braking and lower average speed help the city cycle. Gasoline cars usually go the other way. Combined is the 55/45 blend, not a promise for your commute.
Winter highway is another experiment. Cold-weather range is the place for that. The longest-range leaderboard sorts WLTP kilometres, not MPGe.
Quick answers
What does MPGe stand for? Miles per gallon of gasoline equivalent. Miles on the energy of one US gallon of gasoline.
How do you calculate MPGe? Divide 33.7 by kWh per mile, or 3,370 by kWh per 100 miles if you use EPA’s rounded constant. The legal constant is 33.705 kWh/gal.
Is MPGe the same as MPG? No. MPG counts gallons of the fuel you burned. MPGe counts an energy-equivalent gallon. A 100 MPGe EV used 33.7 kWh to go 100 miles.
Is MPGe only for fully electric cars? BEVs and the electric portion of PHEVs use it. Fuel-cell and some CNG labels do too. Regular hybrids stay on mpg.
Does a higher MPGe mean more range? No. Range is a different test. Efficiency is energy per distance. The tank can still be small.
What is a good MPGe? EPA’s own 100 MPGe example is 33.7 kWh/100 mi. In this WLTP file the available-row average converts to about 112 MPGe-equivalent. That is a catalog translation, not a grade boundary.
Sources
- 40 CFR 600.002: gasoline gallon equivalent = 33.705 kWh. https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-40/chapter-I/subchapter-Q/part-600/subpart-A/section-600.002
- EPA, Fuel economy and EV range testing (33.7 kWh example; charging losses; 0.7), 1 July 2026. https://www.epa.gov/greenvehicles/fuel-economy-and-ev-range-testing
- DOE, 65 FR 36986 (12 June 2000): 33,705 Wh/gal from 115,000 Btu/gal ÷ 3.412 Btu/Wh.
- fueleconomy.gov, Learn more about the electric vehicle label; Find-a-car help (MPGe definition; kWh/100 mi; range is separate).
- 40 CFR 600.210-12 and 600.116-12 (combined 55/45; AC watt-hours include charger losses).
- evstats.org catalog extract, 5 September 2026, 1,352 available rows with Wh/km. Conversion uses 33.7 kWh/gal and 1.609344 km/mi. Not an EPA rating.