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

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

	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 car^a	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
Motorcycle^a	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 car^a	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
Motorcycle^a	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 car^a	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
Motorcycle^a	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 car^a	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
Motorcycle^a	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 car^a	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
Motorcycle^a	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.

^aMotorcycle 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.