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

Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) - Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA) - United States Department of Transportation (USDOT, US DOT or DOT)

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Table 4-22: 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	(R) 2005	2006
Vehicle-miles (millions)
Passenger car	587,000	723,000	917,000	1,034,000	1,112,000	1,247,000	1,408,000	1,358,000	1,372,000	1,375,000	1,406,000	1,438,000	1,470,000	1,503,000	1,550,000	1,569,000	1,600,287	1,628,332	1,658,474	1,672,079	1,699,890	1,708,421	1,682,671
Other 2-axle 4-tire vehicle	N	N	123,000	201,000	291,000	391,000	575,000	649,000	707,000	746,000	765,000	790,000	817,000	851,000	868,000	901,000	923,059	943,207	966,034	984,094	1,027,164	1,041,051	1,089,013
Motorcycle	^b	^b	3,000	5,600	10,200	9,100	9,600	9,200	9,600	9,900	10,200	9,800	9,900	10,100	10,300	10,600	10,469	9,639	9,552	9,577	10,122	10,454	12,401
Passenger-miles (millions)^a
Passenger car	1,145,000	1,395,000	1,751,000	1,954,000	2,012,000	2,094,000	2,282,000	2,200,000	2,208,000	2,213,000	2,250,000	2,287,000	2,337,000	2,389,000	2,464,000	2,495,000	2,544,457	2,556,481	2,620,389	2,641,885	2,685,827	2,699,305	2,658,621
Other 2-axle 4-tire vehicle	N	N	226,000	363,000	521,000	688,000	1,000,000	1,117,000	1,202,000	1,253,000	1,269,000	1,256,000	1,298,000	1,353,000	1,381,000	1,433,000	1,467,664	1,678,853	1,674,792	1,706,103	1,780,771	1,804,848	1,887,997
Motorcycle	^b	^b	3,000	6,000	12,000	12,000	12,000	12,000	12,000	12,000	12,000	11,000	11,000	11,000	11,000	12,000	11,516	11,760	12,131	12,163	12,855	13,277	15,750
Average occupancy rate
Passenger car	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
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
Motorcycle	^b	^b	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
Fuel consumed (million gallons)
Passenger car	41,171	49,723	67,819	74,140	69,982	71,518	69,568	64,317	65,436	67,048	67,874	68,072	69,221	69,892	71,695	73,283	73,065	73,559	75,471	75,455	75,402	77,419	74,983
Other 2-axle 4-tire vehicle	N	N	12,313	19,081	23,796	27,363	35,611	38,217	40,929	42,851	44,112	45,605	47,354	49,388	50,462	52,859	52,939	53,522	55,220	60,758	63,417	58,869	60,662
Motorcycle	^b	^b	60	113	204	182	191	184	191	198	205	196	198	202	206	212	209	193	191	192	202	189	220
Energy intensity (Btu/passenger-mile)^c
Passenger car	4,495	4,455	4,841	4,743	4,348	4,269	3,811	3,654	3,704	3,787	3,771	3,721	3,702	3,657	3,637	3,671	3,589	3,597	3,600	3,570	3,509	3,585	3,525
Other 2-axle 4-tire vehicle	N	N	6,810	6,571	5,709	4,971	4,451	4,277	4,256	4,275	4,345	4,539	4,560	4,563	4,568	4,611	4,509	3,985	4,121	4,452	4,452	4,077	4,016
Motorcycle	^b	^b	2,500	2,354	2,125	1,896	1,990	1,917	1,990	2,063	2,135	2,227	2,250	2,295	2,341	2,205	2,273	2,049	1,969	1,969	1,969	1,779	1,746

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

^bIncluded in passenger car.

^c Energy 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:

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.

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.

1995-2005: Ibid., Highway Statistics (Washington, DC: Annual issues), table VM-1.

Other 2-axle 4-tire vehicle:

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

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.

1995-2006: Ibid., Highway Statistics (Washington, DC: Annual issues), table VM-1.

Passenger-miles:

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

1998-2006: Ibid., Highway Statistics (Washington, DC: Annual issues), table VM-1.

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.

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

1995-2006: Ibid., Highway Statistics (Washington, DC: Annual issues), table VM-1.