U.S. automakers exceeded their targets for improving fuel economy by “a wide margin” for the second year in a row, the Environmental Protection Agency said a report.

Vehicles sold in the U.S. are on average the most fuel efficient they’ve ever been, averaging 24.1 miles per gallon in 2013, a 0.5 mpg increase from the previous year, the EPA said.

The gains are due, in part, to automakers using credits for better air conditioning and selling vehicles that can run on ethanol, the report showed. At the same time, there are more than three times as many vehicles that average 30 mpg than five years ago, and even sport-utility vehicles are becoming more efficient, the EPA said.

“These findings are a terrific early success story for President Obama’s historic effort to reduce the pollution that contributes to climate change,” EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy said Thursday in a statement. “Consumers are really benefiting from the innovations spurred by these standards.”

The improvements show that, for now, the momentum automakers have in reducing weight and introducing fuel-saving technology is enough to offset consumers buying more sport-utility vehicles and fewer electric cars and hybrids.