Car usage increases

Car on roadCar on road. Photo Norway Today Media

Norwegian vehicles were driven 44.3 billion kilometres on Norwegian and international roads in 2015; 1.2 per cent more than in 2014.

The total mileage for passenger cars increased by 1.8 per cent in the same period; 34.4 billion kilometres.
Passenger cars accounted for a good 78 per cent of the total driving by Norwegian vehicles last year. After passenger cars, small vans were driven the most in 2015. This group accounted for 16.5 per cent of total kilometres driven in 2015, with 7.3 billion kilometres. This was 1.1 per cent less than in 2014. The large vans’ share of the total road traffic was 4.4 per cent, amounting to 2.0 billion kilometres. This was a slight increase of 0.2 per cent compared with the previous year. For buses, minibuses led to a decrease in mileage of 1.3 per cent.

Lower average mileage
Under passenger car vehicles, taxis had the highest average; with an average yearly mileage of 57 905 kilometres; 1 000 kilometres less than the year before. The vehicle group with the highest average was road tractors, with 64 696 kilometres in 2015. This was 716 kilometres more than in 2014.

New cars are driven the most
The average mileage for passenger cars decreased little in the first ten years. For trucks and buses, the average mileage fell significantly after the first four years of life. Heavy lorries newer than five years drove for example an average of nearly 59 000 kilometres per year during the first years of life. The average mileage for lorries between five and nine years old fell to 36 000 kilometres.

Slight increase in diesel share
Diesel-powered vehicles amounted 66.7 per cent of total kilometres driven in 2015; 0.5 percentage points more than the year before. The average yearly mileage is also higher for diesel cars. While a gasoline-powered passenger car was driven 9 502 kilometres on average in 2015; diesel-powered cars were driven 15 494 kilometres.

Number of electric cars growing rapidly
The number of electric cars is increasing rapidly in Norway, but still only amounted to 2.6 per cent of the vehicle fleet at the end of last year. In 2015, electric vehicles’ total mileage was estimated at 939 million kilometres. This gives an average yearly mileage of 13 100 kilometres. For electric passenger cars, the average mileage estimated was 12 987 kilometres.

 

Source:    SSB / Norway Today