In German cities, at least. But there’s no reason that the findings of a new study that took place in Munich and Dusseldorf don’t hold true for drivers of other metro areas around the world.

In a study conducted by NuStats and funded by Navteq, a provider of GPS maps, they found that drivers with GPS systems were able to save a considerable amount of distance, time and gas during their stints behind the wheel. On average, the subjects improved fuel efficiency by 12 percent.

Conducted in two metropolitan areas of Germany – Dusseldorf and Munich – the study also showed that drivers with navigation devices had a 12% increase in fuel efficiency, as measured by liters of fuel consumed per 100 kms. Fuel consumption among those drivers using navigation fell from 8.3 to 7.3 l/100kms. When the study results are annualized, they equate to a nearly 2500 kilometer drop in distance driven per year per driver, and an average of euro 416 in savings on fuel annually per driver.

Source: Treehugger