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Table 4-22M: Energy Intensity of Passenger Cars, Other 2-Axle 4-Tire Vehicles, and Motorcycles

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Table 4-22M: Energy Intensity of Passenger Cars, Other 2-Axle 4-Tire Vehicles, and Motorcycles

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  1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 (R) 2006 2007 2008
Vehicle-kilometers (millions)                                                  
Passenger cara 944,685 1,163,556 1,475,768 1,664,062 1,789,591 2,006,852 2,265,956 2,185,489 2,208,020 2,212,848 2,262,738 2,314,237 2,365,736 2,418,844 2,494,483 2,525,061 2,575,412 2,620,546 2,669,055 2,690,950 2,735,708 2,749,437 2,720,651 2,691,575 2,600,459
Other 2-axle 4-tire vehicle N N 197,949 323,478 468,319 629,254 925,373 1,044,464 1,137,806 1,200,571 1,231,148 1,271,382 1,314,834 1,369,552 1,396,911 1,450,019 1,485,519 1,517,945 1,554,681 1,583,746 1,653,060 1,675,409 1,742,099 1,790,026 1,784,123
Motorcyclea U U 4,828 9,012 16,415 14,645 15,450 14,806 15,450 15,933 16,415 15,772 15,933 16,254 16,576 17,059 16,848 15,512 15,372 15,413 16,290 16,824 19,391 21,920 23,310
Passenger-kilometers (millions)                                                  
Passenger cara 1,842,699 2,245,035 2,817,961 3,144,658 3,238,000 3,369,966 3,672,523 3,540,557 3,553,432 3,561,478 3,621,024 3,680,570 3,761,037 3,844,723 3,965,424 4,015,313 4,094,907 4,114,257 4,217,107 4,251,702 4,322,420 4,344,110 4,298,629 4,252,689 4,108,725
Other 2-axle 4-tire vehicle N N 363,712 584,192 838,468 1,107,229 1,609,344 1,797,637 1,934,431 2,016,508 2,042,258 2,021,336 2,088,929 2,177,442 2,222,504 2,306,190 2,361,976 2,701,852 2,695,316 2,745,707 2,865,873 2,904,621 3,020,240 3,103,329 3,093,096
Motorcyclea U U 4,828 9,656 19,312 19,312 19,312 19,312 19,312 19,312 19,312 17,703 17,703 17,703 17,703 19,312 18,533 18,926 19,523 19,574 20,688 21,367 24,628 27,839 29,603
Average occupancy rate                                                  
Passenger cara 1.95 1.93 1.91 1.89 1.81 1.68 1.62 1.62 1.61 1.61 1.60 1.59 1.59 1.59 1.59 1.59 1.59 1.57 1.58 1.58 1.58 1.58 1.58 1.58 1.58
Other 2-axle 4-tire vehicle N N 1.84 1.81 1.79 1.76 1.74 1.72 1.70 1.68 1.66 1.59 1.59 1.59 1.59 1.59 1.59 1.78 1.73 1.73 1.73 1.73 1.73 1.73 1.73
Motorcyclea U U 1.00 1.07 1.18 1.32 1.25 1.30 1.25 1.21 1.18 1.12 1.11 1.09 1.07 1.13 1.10 1.22 1.27 1.27 1.27 1.27 1.27 1.27 1.27
Fuel consumed (million liters)                                                  
Passenger cara 155,849 188,222 256,723 280,650 264,911 270,725 263,344 243,466 247,702 253,804 256,931 257,681 262,030 264,570 271,395 277,406 276,582 278,450 285,690 285,627 285,427 (R) 293,061 283,940 281,548 270,646
Other 2-axle 4-tire vehicle N N 46,610 72,229 90,078 103,580 134,802 144,667 154,933 162,209 166,982 172,634 179,254 186,954 191,019 200,093 200,395 202,602 209,031 229,994 240,060 (R) 222,844 229,719 234,076 231,663
Motorcyclea U U 227 428 772 689 723 697 723 750 776 742 750 765 780 801 793 730 723 725 766 (R) 717 837 917 970
Energy intensity (Btu/passenger-kilometer)b                                                  
Passenger cara 2,793 2,768 3,008 2,947 2,702 2,653 2,368 2,271 2,302 2,353 2,343 2,312 2,301 2,272 2,260 2,281 2,230 2,235 2,237 2,218 2,181 (R) 2,228 2,181 2,186 2,175
Other 2-axle 4-tire vehicle N N 4,232 4,083 3,548 3,089 2,766 2,657 2,645 2,656 2,700 2,820 2,834 2,835 2,838 2,865 2,802 2,476 2,561 2,766 2,766 (R) 2,533 2,512 2,491 2,473
Motorcyclea U U 1,553 1,463 1,320 1,178 1,236 1,191 1,236 1,282 1,327 1,384 1,398 1,426 1,455 1,370 1,412 1,273 1,223 1,223 1,223 (R) 1,109 1,122 1,088 1,082

KEY: Btu = British thermal unit; N = data do not exist; R = revised; U = data are unavailable.

a Motorcycle was included in passenger car in 1960 and 1965.

b Energy Intensity (Btu/passenger-kilometer) is calculated by converting the fuel consumption in liters to the energy equivalent Btu units and dividing by the passenger-miles. The heat equivalent factor used for Btu conversion is 33,021.5046605 Btus/liter.

NOTES

In 1995, the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration revised its vehicle type categories for 1993 and later data.

These new categories include passenger car, other 2-axle 4-tire vehicle, single-unit 2-axle 6-tire or more truck, and combination truck.

Other 2-axle 4-tire vehicle includes vans, pickup trucks, and sport utility vehicles. In previous years, some minivans and sport utility vehicles were included in the passenger car category. Single-unit 2-axle 6-tire or more trucks are on a single frame with at least 2 axles and 6 tires. Pre-1993 data have been reassigned to the closest available category.

Vehicle-miles and passenger-miles data for 1960 through 1999 have been rounded to the nearest billion miles.

For 1970-94, the unrevised motorcycle fuel consumed is subtracted from the combined passenger car and motorcycle fuel consumed from VM-201A.

1 mile = 1.609344 kilometers

1 gallon = 3.785412 liters

SOURCES

Vehicle-miles:

Passenger car:

1960-94: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Highway Statistics Summary to 1995, FHWA-PL-97-009 (Washington, DC: July 1997), table VM-201A.

1995-2008: Ibid., Highway Statistics (Washington, DC: Annual issues), Table VM-1, available at http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policy/ohpi/hss/hsspubs.cfm as of Feb. 17, 2010.

Other 2-axle 4-tire vehicle:

1970-94: Ibid., Highway Statistics, Summary to 1985 (Washington, DC: 1986), Table VM-201A.

1995-2008: Ibid., Highway Statistics (Washington, DC: Annual issues), Table VM-1, available at http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policy/ohpi/hss/hsspubs.cfm as of Feb. 17, 2010.

Motorcycle:

1970-94: Ibid., Highway Statistics, Summary to 1985 (Washington, DC: 1986), Table VM-201A.

For 1970-94, the unrevised motorcycle vehicle-miles are subtracted from the combined passenger car and motorcycle vehicle-miles from VM-201A.

1995-2008: Ibid., Highway Statistics (Washington, DC: Annual issues), Table VM-1, available at http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policy/ohpi/hss/hsspubs.cfm as of Feb. 17, 2010.

Passenger-miles:

1960-97: Vehicle-miles multiplied by vehicle occupancy rates.

1998-2008: Ibid., Highway Statistics (Washington, DC: Annual issues), Table VM-1, available at http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policy/ohpi/hss/hsspubs.cfm as of Feb. 17, 2010.

Fuel consumed:

1960-94: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Highway Statistics Summary to 1995, FHWA-PL-97-009 (Washington, DC: July 1997), Table VM-201A.

1995-2008: Ibid., Highway Statistics (Washington, DC: Annual issues), Table VM-1, available at http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policy/ohpi/hss/hsspubs.cfm as of Feb. 17, 2010.