China’s fuel consumption standards for heavy-duty vehicles (HDVs) have progressed since Stage 1 was first introduced in 2012, and Stage 4 standards are currently in development. However, to date there has been no independent retrospective assessment of the impact of Stage 1 and Stage 2 standards, including whether they spurred any reduction in the fuel consumption of HDVs. This study fills that knowledge gap by analyzing data from 10.5 million trucks and buses in the period 2012 to 2017.