Table 4-22M: Energy Intensity of Light Duty 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	2006	2007	2008	2009
Vehicle-kilometers (millions)
Light duty vehicle, short wheel basea,b	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	2,618,991	2,669,055	2,690,770	2,735,708	2,749,437	2,720,651	3,386,729	3,258,531	3,240,311
Light duty vehicle, long wheel baseb	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	1,516,991	1,554,681	1,583,627	1,653,060	1,675,410	1,742,099	944,071	974,388	992,809
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	15,502	15,372	15,411	16,290	16,825	19,392	34,434	33,492	33,475
Passenger-kilometers (millions)
Light duty vehicle, short wheel basea,b	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	4,114,258	4,217,107	4,251,702	4,322,419	4,344,110	4,298,629	5,351,032	5,148,478	4,502,040
Light duty vehicle, long wheel baseb	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	2,701,851	2,695,316	2,745,706	2,865,873	2,904,621	3,020,240	1,636,715	1,689,275	1,326,343
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	18,925	19,523	19,574	20,689	21,367	24,628	43,731	42,534	36,056
Average occupancy rate
Light duty vehicle, short wheel basea,b	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	1.39
Light duty vehicle, long wheel baseb	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	1.34
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	1.08
Fuel consumed (million liters)
Light duty vehicle, short wheel basea,b	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	293,061	283,940	339,085	323,991	323,881
Light duty vehicle, long wheel baseb	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	222,844	229,719	139,721	132,207	135,381
Motorcyclea	U	U	227	428	772	689	723	697	723	750	776	742	750	765	780	801	793	730	723	725	766	717	837	1,798	1,853	1,798
Energy intensity (Kilojoules/passenger-kilometer)b
Light duty vehicle, short wheel basea,b	2,947	2,921	3,174	3,109	2,850	2,799	2,498	2,396	2,429	2,483	2,472	2,439	2,427	2,397	2,384	2,407	2,353	2,358	2,360	2,341	2,301	2,350	2,301	2,208	2,192	2,506
Light duty vehicle, long wheel baseb	N	N	4,465	4,308	3,743	3,259	2,918	2,804	2,790	2,803	2,849	2,975	2,990	2,991	2,994	3,023	2,956	2,612	2,702	2,918	2,918	2,673	2,650	2,974	2,727	3,556
Motorcyclea	U	U	1,639	1,543	1,393	1,243	1,304	1,257	1,304	1,352	1,400	1,460	1,475	1,505	1,535	1,446	1,490	1,343	1,291	1,291	1,291	1,170	1,184	1,432	1,517	1,737

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

^a Motorcycle wasincluded in Light duty vehicle, short wheel base (previously Passenger car) in 1960 and 1965.

^b 1960-99 data are for Passenger car and Other 2-axle, 4-tire vehicles, respectively. The data from 1960-2006 are not comparable to the data from 2007-09.

^c Energy Intensity (Kilojoules/passenger-kilometer) is calculated by converting the fuel consumption in liters to the energy equivalent Kilojoule units and dividing by the passenger-kilometers. The heat equivalent factor used for kilojoule conversion is 34,839.537 Kilojoules/liter.

NOTES

Data for 2007-09 were calculated using a new methodology developed by FHWA. Data for these years are based on new categories and are not comparable to previous years. The new category Light duty vehicle, short wheel base includes passenger cars, light trucks, vans and sport utility vehicles with a wheelbase (WB) equal to or less than 121 inches. The new category Light duty vehicle, long wheel base includes large passenger cars, vans, pickup trucks, and sport/utility vehicles with wheelbases (WB) larger than 121 inches.

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.

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

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

1 mile = 1.609344 kilometers

1 gallon = 3.785412 liters

1 Btu = 1.055056 kilojoules.

SOURCES

Vehicle-miles:

Passenger car:

1960-94: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Highway Statistics Summary to 1995, table VM-201A, available at http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/statistics.cfm as of Oct. 6, 2011.

1995-2006: Ibid., Highway Statistics (Washington, DC: Annual Issues), table VM-1, available at http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/statistics.cfm as of Oct. 6, 2011.

Light duty vehicle, short wheel base:

2007-2009: Ibid., Highway Statistics (Washington, DC: Annual Issues), table VM-1, available at http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/statistics.cfm as of Oct. 6, 2011.

Other 2-axle 4-tire vehicle:

1970-94: U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Highway Statistics Summary to 1995, table VM-201A, available at http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/statistics.cfm as of Oct. 6, 2011.

1995-2006: Ibid., Highway Statistics (Washington, DC: Annual Issues), table VM-1, available at http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/statistics.cfm as of Oct. 6, 2011.

Light duty vehicle, long wheel base:

2007-2009: Ibid., Highway Statistics (Washington, DC: Annual Issues), table VM-1, available at http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/statistics.cfm as of Oct. 6, 2011.

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.

1995-2009: Ibid., Highway Statistics (Washington, DC: Annual Issues), table VM-1, available at http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/statistics.cfm as of Oct. 6, 2011.

Passenger-miles:

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

1998-2009: Ibid., Highway Statistics (Washington, DC: Annual Issues), table VM-1, available at http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/statistics.cfm as of Oct. 6, 2011.

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.

1995-2009: Ibid., Highway Statistics (Washington, DC: Annual Issues), table VM-1, available at http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/statistics.cfm as of Oct. 6, 2011.