Car numbers and mileage up

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Norwegian vehicles were driven 45 billion kilometres on Norwegian and international roads in 2016; 2.2 per cent more than in 2015. This is similar to the growth in the number of vehicles from 2015 to 2016 according to new figures for Road traffic volumes.

Passenger cars accounted for 78.2 per cent of the total driving by Norwegian vehicles last year. This share includes taxis, ambulances and motor homes, although such vehicles only contributed to a small fraction of the total vehicle-kilometres performed by passenger cars. Vans and small lorries contributed to approximately 16.2 per cent of the total distances covered in the statistics, while larger lorries, road tractors, buses and minibuses contributed to about 5.7 per cent in total.

Figure 1. Road traffic volumes, by main type of vehicle

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
All vans and lorries¹ 8717.3 9397.6 9626.3 9333.8 9201.2 9260.6 9478.9 9399.5 9325.0 9251.0 9285.1
All buses 745.5 721.6 694.2 644.9 622.6 611.0 596.9 583.1 572.1 564.4 570.3
All passenger cars 29879.9 32247.2 32713.7 32631.1 32737.3 33032.0 33876.2 33930.5 33841.1 34434.8 35348.1

Average mileage increased for passenger cars

The average mileage for all road vehicles driven was 12 480 kilometres in 2016, compared with 12 387 kilometres the year before. Last year, buses accounted for an average of 32 582 kilometres, and the larger lorries 35 407 kilometres. The vehicle group that was driven the farthest was road tractor, with an average of 64 940 kilometres in 2016.

Figure 2. Average annual driving distances, by type of vehicle

2011 2016
Motor homes 7638 5893
Large combined vehicles 10303 7971
Small lorries (carrying capacity less than 3.5 tonnes) 12478 10082
Small combined vehicles 12601 10357
Mini-buses 13283 11892
Lorries (gross vehicle weight 12 tonnes or less) 13767 11928
Passenger cars 12858 12390
Small vans 15568 14356
Large vans 16851 16512
Lorries (gross vehicle weight over 12 tonnes) 32482 30443
Ambulances 33603 34498
Buses and coaches 39677 38167
Taxis 59524 58302
Road tractors 67271 64940

Diesel-powered road vehicles still dominate

The diesel-powered goods vehicles, buses and passenger cars were driven 29.9 billion kilometres in 2016; 1.3 per cent more than in 2015. Petrol-powered vehicles were driven 12.3 billion kilometres in 2016; 9.9 per cent less than in 2015. This is partly because the petrol-hybrid vehicles now placed under another fuel.

Figure 3. Road traffic volumes, by type of fuel

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Petrol 23360.1 22849.6 21406.9 20005.7 18680.7 17423.8 16346.6 15380.8 14427.3 13735.7 12380.4
Diesel 15962.2 19494.7 21601.9 22573.2 23847.2 25428.0 27505.6 28370.1 28942.3 29515.1 29902.1
Other fuels 20.3 22.1 25.4 30.8 33.1 51.7 99.8 162.2 368.6 999.4 2921.0

Figure 4. Average annual driving distances, by main type of vehicles and age of vehicle

0-4 years 5–9 years 10–14 years 15–19 years 20–24 years 25 years or older
All passenger cars 14935 14497 12155 9402 7018 3440
All vans and small lorries 17064 16641 12421 9239 7334 3718
All buses 46057 42542 18559 10658 6252 3064
All heavy lorries and road tractors 57311 36417 19841 10255 6352 2713

The number of electric vehicles increased at breakneck speed

The number of electric vehicles is increasing rapidly. In 2016, there were 41 per cent more electric cars on the roads than the previous year, but this vehicle group still only accounted for 3.7 per cent of the passenger car population at the end of last year. In 2016, electric vehicles’ total mileage was estimated at 1.7 billion kilometres. This gives an average annual mileage of 16 905 kilometres. For electric cars, the average mileage is estimated to be 16 840 kilometres.

Vehicles registered in Akershus and Oslo are driven the most

Cars registered in Akershus and Oslo were driven almost the same amount, with 6.1 billion kilometres each in 2016. These cars accounted for the largest share of road traffic volumes in Norway; 3.5 and 13.4 per cent respectively. Vehicles from Hordaland had an 8.0 per cent share of the total traffic volume in 2016.

New calculation of mileage for electric cars in 2015 and 2016

Statistics on mileage are based on meter data from the EEA controls (periodic vehicle inspection) that Statistics Norway receives annually from the Norwegian Public Roads Administration. The date of the first control of a new car depends on the vehicle group. For passenger cars, the first control is held after 4 years, while a lorry is called after one year. Calculating mileage for cars that have not yet had their first control is based on a model. For more details about the model used see About the statistics. The rapid development in the number and type of electric vehicles means that the model is not optimum for calculating mileage for electric vehicles. For 2015, Statistics Norway has therefore obtained additional information from dealers and the Norwegian Electric Vehicle Association, which is conducting a survey on the mileage for these cars. This information has been incorporated into the model also for 2016. This has meant that the average mileage for electric cars has increased significantly compared to previous calculations. For 2016, the average mileage for electric passenger cars is estimated to be 16 840 kilometres, compared with 7 800 for 2014 and 12 987 for 2015. Until we have more actual meter readings there will be uncertainties in the estimates of mileage for electric vehicles.

Mileage broken down by county and municipality

The distribution of mileage by the owners’ county of residence and municipality of residence largely follows the population of the counties and municipalities, with some variations in the average mileage and average number of cars per capita between different parts of the country. However, there is not necessarily agreement between the owner’s address and the place where the vehicle is driven. For example, vehicles owned by leasing companies or large transport and service companies will usually be registered under the address of the head office, even although they are used in other parts of the country. At the municipal level, such conditions have a particular impact on vehicles registered on owners in Baerum, since several large leasing companies are located there.

 

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