Liters per 100 Kilometers to Kilometers per Liter Converter | L/100km to km/L

What this converter does

Litres per 100 kilometres is the standard fuel-economy measure across much of the world, but if you think in kilometres per litre, it reads back to front. This converter takes an L/100km figure and turns it into km/L. Enter the L/100km value and read off the km/L.

The measure most of the world uses

Litres per 100 kilometres is what you will see on car specs across Europe, and in Canada, Australia, and many other places. It answers a direct question: how much fuel does it take to drive 100 km. Because it counts fuel for a fixed distance, a smaller number means a thriftier car. That is the opposite of km/L, which counts distance for a fixed amount of fuel, so a bigger number is better there. Converting from one to the other means carrying a figure across that change in direction.

The rule: 100 divided by the figure

The two measures are reciprocals scaled to 100 kilometres, so the conversion is a division:

km/L = 100 ÷ L/100km

Divide 100 by the L/100km figure and you have the km/L. It is the same simple operation whichever way you are going, which makes this an easy pair to move between once you know the rule.

Reading the flip the other way

Here the direction matters for getting a feel as you convert. A low L/100km figure, the kind that marks an economical car, turns into a high km/L. A high L/100km figure, a thirsty car, turns into a low km/L. So when you convert a small L/100km number and get a large km/L back, that is not a surprise, it is the flip doing its job: little fuel for the distance becomes lots of distance for the fuel.

A worked example

Say a car is rated at 8 L/100km and you want that in kilometres per litre.

• 100 ÷ 8 = 12.5 km/L

So 8 L/100km is 12.5 km/L. It reads sensibly once converted: a car that burns 8 litres every 100 km is covering 12.5 km on each litre. Both numbers describe the same fairly ordinary car, one counting the fuel, the other the distance.

Common L/100km values in km/L

The two columns run opposite ways: as L/100km rises, km/L falls. A frugal 4 L/100km is a strong 25 km/L, while a thirsty 15 L/100km is only about 6.7 km/L.

Questions people ask

How do I convert L/100km to km/L?

Divide 100 by the L/100km figure. The two are reciprocals, so the conversion is a division.

Why is a lower L/100km better?

Because it measures fuel used over a fixed distance. Less fuel to cover 100 km means a more economical car, so smaller is better, the opposite of km/L.

What is 8 L/100km in km/L?

12.5 km/L. A car using 8 litres per 100 km travels 12.5 km on a litre.

References

1. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Special Publication 811, Guide for the Use of the International System of Units (unit conversions). https://www.nist.gov/pml/special-publication-811