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U.S. Department of Transportation U.S. Department of Transportation Icon United States Department of Transportation United States Department of Transportation

Table 4-22M: Energy Intensity of Light Duty Vehicles and Motorcycles

Friday, April 14, 2017

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  1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Motorcyclea U U 227 428 772 689 723 697 723 750 776 742 750 765 780 801 793
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
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
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

 

  2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Vehicle-kilometers (millions)                              
Light duty vehicle, short wheel basea,b 2,618,991 2,669,055 2,690,770 2,735,708 2,749,437 2,720,651 3,386,729 3,258,531 3,243,977 3,260,120 3,293,172 3,319,799 3,338,460 3,334,676 3,456,614
Light duty vehicle, long wheel baseb 1,516,991 1,554,681 1,583,627 1,653,060 1,675,410 1,742,099 944,071 974,388 993,824 1,002,157 972,326 967,589 970,928 1,027,541 1,016,868
Motorcyclea 15,502 15,372 15,411 16,290 16,825 19,392 34,434 33,492 33,510 29,794 29,841 34,416 32,776 32,138 31,553
Passenger-kilometers (millions)                              
Light duty vehicle, short wheel basea,b 4,114,258 4,217,107 4,251,702 4,322,419 4,344,110 4,298,629 5,351,032 5,148,478 4,507,134 4,529,562 4,575,485 4,612,480 4,638,407 4,633,149 4,802,569
Light duty vehicle, long wheel baseb 2,701,851 2,695,316 2,745,706 2,865,873 2,904,621 3,020,240 1,636,715 1,689,275 1,327,699 1,338,832 1,298,979 1,292,651 1,297,112 1,372,743 1,358,485
Motorcyclea 18,925 19,523 19,574 20,689 21,367 24,628 43,731 42,534 36,094 32,091 32,142 37,070 35,304 34,616 33,987
Average occupancy rate                              
Light duty vehicle, short wheel basea,b 1.57 1.58 1.58 1.58 1.58 1.58 1.58 1.58 1.39 1.39 1.39 1.39 1.39 1.39 1.39
Light duty vehicle, long wheel baseb 1.78 1.73 1.73 1.73 1.73 1.73 1.73 1.73 1.34 1.34 1.34 1.34 1.34 1.34 1.34
Motorcyclea 1.22 1.27 1.27 1.27 1.27 1.27 1.27 1.27 1.08 1.08 1.08 1.08 1.08 1.08 1.08
Fuel consumed (million liters)                              
Light duty vehicle, short wheel basea,b 278,450 285,690 285,627 285,427 293,061 283,940 339,085 323,991 324,249 328,530 334,474 335,388 335,429 338,040 340,754
Light duty vehicle, long wheel baseb 202,602 209,031 229,994 240,060 222,844 229,719 139,721 132,207 135,179 137,225 133,756 132,922 133,090 141,359 137,925
Motorcyclea 730 723 725 766 717 837 1,798 1,853 1,826 1,615 1,614 1,859 1,770 1,736 1,695
Energy intensity (Kilojoules/passenger-kilometer)b                              
Light duty vehicle, short wheel basea,b 2,358 2,360 2,341 2,301 2,350 2,301 2,208 2,192 2,506 2,527 2,547 2,533 2,519 2,542 2,472
Light duty vehicle, long wheel baseb 2,612 2,702 2,918 2,918 2,673 2,650 2,974 2,727 3,547 3,571 3,587 3,583 3,575 3,588 3,537
Motorcyclea 1,343 1,291 1,291 1,291 1,170 1,184 1,432 1,517 1,762 1,754 1,749 1,747 1,747 1,747 1,738

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

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 2007-15.

cEnergy Intensity (Btu/passenger-mile) is calculated by converting the fuel consumption in gallons to the energy equivalent Btu units and dividing by the passenger-miles. The heat equivalent factor used for Btu conversion is 125,000 Btus/gallon.

NOTES

Data for 2007-15 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:

2007-2015: Ibid., Highway Statistics (Washington, DC: Annual Issues), table VM-1, available at http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/statistics.cfm as of Mar. 28, 2017.

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:

2007-2015: Ibid., Highway Statistics (Washington, DC: Annual Issues), table VM-1, available at http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/statistics.cfm as of Mar. 28, 2017.

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.

1995-2015: Ibid., Highway Statistics (Washington, DC: Annual Issues), table VM-1, available at http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/statistics.cfm as of Mar. 28, 2017.

Passenger-miles:

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

1998-2015: Ibid., Highway Statistics (Washington, DC: Annual Issues), table VM-1, available at http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/statistics.cfm as of Mar. 28, 2017.

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.

1995-2015: Ibid., Highway Statistics (Washington, DC: Annual Issues), table VM-1, available at http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/statistics.cfm as of Mar. 28, 2017.