Use fuel-efficient routing on your Google Maps app

Important: These features are only available in select countries or regions.

Google Maps can estimate fuel or energy efficiency for different vehicle types, including electric and combustion engine cars, as well as petrol motorcycles. The more fuel or energy efficient the route, the lower your vehicle’s fuel or energy usage and CO₂e emissions.

To determine the best route, if this feature is turned on, Maps will consider fuel efficiency in addition to factors like:

• Real-time traffic
• Route simplicity
• Road conditions

With that, besides the fastest route, Maps will always highlight the most efficient one, as long as there are multiple routes to your destination.

If this feature is turned off, you’ll get the fastest route and Google Maps won’t factor in fuel or energy efficiency for route recommendations. However, based on your engine type, it’ll highlight the most fuel- or energy-efficient route among alternatives with a green leaf.

Turn fuel-efficient routing on or off

Important: Energy-efficient routes for EVs don’t include stops to charge.

1. On your mobile device, open the Google Maps app .
2. Tap your profile picture or initial Settings Navigation settings.
3. Scroll to Route options.
4. Turn Prefer fuel-efficient routes on or off.

Choose your engine type in the Google Maps app

Important: This setting only applies to cars. For motorcycles, Google Maps will assume that you have a petrol motorcycle.

1. On your mobile device, open the Google Maps app .
2. Tap your profile picture or initial Settings Navigation settings.
3. Scroll to Route options.
4. Tap Engine type.
5. Based on the vehicle that you drive, select your engine type.
   • A vehicle with an internal combustion engine: Choose Petrol or Diesel.
   • A compressed Natural Gas (CNG) or Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) vehicle: Choose Petrol.
   • A hybrid or plug-in hybrid that mostly runs with fuel: Choose Hybrid.
   • An EV or plug-in hybrid that mostly runs on electricity: Choose Electric.
6. Tap Done.

The most fuel or energy-efficient route can be different based on the engine type. For example, diesel vehicles’ relative fuel economy advantage is generally greatest in motorway driving. Hybrid and electric vehicles tend to provide greater efficiency in stop-start town and hill driving where they can benefit from regenerative braking.

If you don’t choose an engine type, petrol is the default option as the most common engine type in most countries and regions. For motorcycles, only petrol engine types are currently supported.

Change your fuel-efficient routing settings after you get driving directions

1. In the top right, tap Menu   Options.
2. Turn Prefer fuel-efficient routes on or off.
3. Tap the engine that most closely fits your needs.
4. Tap Done.

Google Maps calculation of fuel and energy efficiency

We estimate energy and fuel efficiency based on insights from the US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory and data from the European Environment Agency. This calculation includes factors that affect your fuel and energy usage and CO₂e emissions, like:

• Average fuel or energy consumption for vehicles in your region
• Steepness of hills on your route
• Stop-start traffic patterns
• Types of roads, such as local roads or motorways

Maps recommends the most fuel- or energy-efficient route when it has roughly the same arrival time as the fastest route. In cases where fuel or energy savings are too small or driving time increases significantly, Maps shows relative fuel or energy savings between routes to help you compare.

Learn more about fuel-efficient routing technology.