This Brand Dominates The New Truck Market For Best Fuel Economy

Pickup trucks continue to be big sellers in the United States, with models from Ford and Chevrolet claiming the top two spots in 2025's best-seller rankings. That may surprise some, because, well, gas is expensive and pickup trucks are hardly the most fuel efficient vehicles on the market. Nonetheless, consumers continue to drive them off of new car lots with staggering regularity.

It should go without saying that fuel economy numbers for modern pickup truck tend to be far better than they were in years and decades past. With many manufacturers also offering hybrid and electric models, the numbers can be markedly better, too. But which of the major brands in the current pickup truck market is leading the way in the fuel economy game? According to a recent study undertaken by the United States Department of Energy (DOE), Rivian is the pickup truck brand that's winning the fuel economy fight.

Rivian is, of course, an EV only outfit, so it's not entirely shocking that its Made in the USA trucks scored well in the DOE study. What is surprising is how well the brand showed, with its builds claiming the first 12 spots on the list. Rivian's R1T Performance Dual Max and Dual Large models tied for the top spot on the list with each netting a combined city/highway rating of 87 miles per gallon equivalent (MPGe). Various other makes of the R1T spot the list from there, with only a couple fronting combined MPGe ratings below 70. 

For the sake of clarity, we should note the DOE fuel economy study does not explicitly separate electric trucks from those powered in part, or entirely by fossil fuels, focusing instead on the market as a whole. Thus it is that the top scores on the list are almost exclusively EVs. Tesla's feature friendly Cybertruck is about the only EV shingle that competes with Rivian, with its AWD and Long Range models netting combined fuel economy scores of 79 MPGe and 78 MPGe respectively.

Chevrolet also placed four of its Silverado EVs on the list, with a few GMC Sierra EVs also earning a spot. In fact, the final EV spot went to the Sierra 20-Mod build with 64 MPGe combined. Perhaps expectedly, the numbers drop considerably once gas-powered trucks enter the fray. The first of those trucks is even a hybrid, with Ford's Maverick HEV AWD earning a combined 38 MPG. The Maverick Lariat HEV is right behind with 36 MPG combined.

The 2026 Ford Maverick FWD is the first gas-only truck to make the list, doing so with a combined fuel economy rating of 36 MPG. Two-wheel drive versions of Chevy's Silverado and GMC's Sierra are next with 26 MPG and 25 MPG respectively. Various models of those trucks pop up throughout the list. The only other Ford to show up is the 4WD Hybrid F-150, which places near the bottom with 23 MPG. Toyota's Tacoma Hybrid 4WD claimed the final spot on the list with a combined 23 MPG.