Canadian Vehicle Survey 2005, Summary Report

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1. A Description of Canada's On-Road Vehicle Fleet

Canada's transportation sector includes activities related to transporting passengers and goods by road, rail, water and air. In 2004, this sector's energy consumption accounted for 29 percent of total secondary energy use in Canada.⁴ Road transportation, the subject of the CVS, consumes more than three-quarters of this energy. Total GHG emissions in the transportation sector – about 175 megatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions – accounted for 35 percent of the country's GHG emissions. Of all the end-use sectors, the transportation sector emits the most GHGs in Canada.⁵

The following section describes Canada's on-road vehicle fleet, its use and its energy consumption according to CVS data.

1.1 Number of vehicles

In 2005, the number of in-scope vehicles in the CVS totalled 18,608,297.⁶ As shown in Table 1.1, this figure can be divided into two categories: light vehicles and heavy vehicles, the latter including medium and heavy trucks. Please note that in this report and for analysis purposes, we refer to the following three categories:

• light vehicles with a gross vehicle weight below 4.5 tonnes;
• medium trucks with a gross vehicle weight of 4.5 tonnes or more but less than 15 tonnes; and
• heavy trucks with a gross vehicle weight of 15 tonnes or more.

Table 1.1

Number of vehicles in Canada between 2000 and 2005, by vehicle type

Year	Light Vehicles	Medium Trucks	Heavy Trucks	Total
2000	16,642,140 A	319,500 A	255,503 A	17,217,143 A
2001	16,790,536 A	330,043 A	253,648 A	17,374,227 A
2002	17,299,423 A	315,424 A	268,411 A	17,883,258 A
2003	17,547,499 A	321,878 A	278,848 A	18,148,225 A
2004	17,732,814 A	324,525 B	277,265 B	18,334,605 A
2005	17,993,468 A	320,635 B	294,193 B	18,608,297 A

The letter to the right of each estimate indicates its quality: A – Excellent, B – Very good, C – Good, D – Acceptable, E – Use with caution, and F – Too unreliable to be published.

Due to rounding, the numbers in the tables may not add up, and some data may differ slightly from one table to the next.

The light vehicle category is the largest, representing more than 95 percent of Canada's on-road vehicle fleet. Since 2000, the total number of vehicles seems to have increased; and of all vehicle categories, the heavy truck category has seen the biggest increase.

1.2 Principal characteristics of vehicles

The age of Canada's on-road vehicle fleet is an important issue for a variety of reasons. A vehicle's age, for example, is an important variable in analysing its use. As the OEE Web site states, "Newer vehicles tend to be more fuel efficient than older models."⁷

Figure 1.1 shows the distribution of in-scope vehicles in the CVS based on age. Note that light vehicles and heavy trucks exhibit similar characteristics. The average age of light vehicles and heavy trucks in Canada is 7.6 years, while the average age of medium trucks is 9.7 years. Medium trucks are the oldest vehicles, with more than 40 percent of the fleet being over 10 years old.

Click here to view larger image

Another important factor is the type of fuel used in vehicles. In 2005, gasoline and diesel remained the two most frequently used fuels in the country. According to CVS estimates, more than 99 percent of vehicles used one of these fuels. In CVS estimates, "gasoline" includes three varieties of this fuel as well as gasoline-ethanol blends. These blends are interesting as they are suitable for most vehicles and available in more than 1,000 service stations in Canada. The other fuels used by Canadians and included in the CVS are propane, natural gas and ethanol. These alternative fuels offer several economic and environmental benefits. For example, they burn more cleanly and completely than gasoline and diesel, and produce fewer air pollutants and GHGs.⁸ Table 1.2 shows CVS estimates for the number of vehicles in Canada in 2005, according to fuel type. Note that gasoline dominates the light vehicle category, with 97 percent of vehicles using this fuel. Diesel is the primary fuel for heavy trucks. About two-thirds of vehicles in the medium truck category use diesel, while the rest of the fleet uses gasoline.

Table 1.2

Number of vehicles in Canada by vehicle type and fuel type

Fuel Type	Light Vehicles	Medium Trucks	Heavy Trucks	Total
Gasoline	17,379,447 A	93,932 E	F	17,476,563 A
Diesel	541,406 E	217,210 C	290,451 B	1,049,067 D
Other	F	F	F	F
Total	17,993,468 A	320,635 B	294,193 B	18,608,297 A

The letter to the right of each estimate indicates its quality: A – Excellent, B – Very good, C – Good, D – Acceptable, E – Use with caution, and F – Too unreliable to be published.

Due to rounding, the numbers in the tables may not add up, and some data may differ slightly from one table to the next.

1.3 Vehicle use

CVS estimates show that in 2005, Canadians travelled more than 315 billion vehicle-kilometres. As Table 1.3 indicates, 91.3 percent of the distance travelled was by light vehicles, 6.8 percent by heavy trucks and 1.9 percent by medium trucks. The estimates appear to show a slight increase in distance travelled since 2000, although distribution of the total distance travelled among the various vehicle categories remains the same.

Table 1.3

Number of vehicle-km (in millions of kilometres) in Canada between 2000 and 2005

Year	Light Vehicles	Medium Trucks	Heavy Trucks	Total
2000	281,985.1 A	5,930.2 A	20,715.9 A	308,631.2 A
2001	283,380.4 A	6,476.0 A	18,577.2 A	308,433.6 A
2002	290,320.1 A	5,439.9 A	18,167.0 A	313,927.0 A
2003	286,617.9 A	6,172.7 A	18,606.1 A	311,396.7 A
2004	284,092.8 A	6,959.8 B	20,730.7 A	311,783.3 A
2005	287,722.4 A	6,020.5 B	21,554.4 A	315,297.3 A

The letter to the right of each estimate indicates its quality: A – Excellent, B – Very good, C – Good, D – Acceptable, E – Use with caution, and F – Too unreliable to be published.

Due to rounding, the numbers in the tables may not add up, and some data may differ slightly from one table to the next.

The number of passenger-kilometres (passenger-km) is another variable that says a lot about Canadians' driving habits. In 2005, the number of passenger-km was about 526 billion kilometres, representing an increase of about 5 percent over 2004.⁹ The next table presents the CVS estimates of the passenger-km since 2000. A comparison of tables 1.3 and 1.4 shows that medium and heavy trucks usually carry fewer passengers than light vehicles. This observation is not surprising since these two categories of vehicle are driven more for commercial purposes in Canada.

Table 1.4

Number of passenger-km travelled (millions of kilometres) in the provinces between 2000 and 2005¹⁰

Year	Light Vehicles	Medium Trucks	Heavy Trucks	Total
2000	475,073.9 A	n.a.	n.a.	475,073.9 A
2001	460,624.1 A	9,295.9 C	19,760.7 B	489,680.7 B
2002	470,579.7 A	7,551.5 B	20,413.8 B	498,545.0 B
2003	463,155.6 A	8,893.4 D	20,025.0 B	492,074.0 B
2004	469,461.9 A	9,224.8 B	22,577.4 A	501,264.1 A
2005	493,725.9 A	7,612.1 B	24,355.8 A	525,693.8 A

The letter to the right of each estimate indicates its quality: A – Excellent, B – Very good, C – Good, D – Acceptable, E – Use with caution, and F – Too unreliable to be published.

Due to rounding, the numbers in the tables may not add up, and some data may differ slightly from one table to the next.

Another area of interest is the intensity with which Canadians use their vehicles, as demonstrated by two indicators:

• the per capita number of vehicle-km or passenger-km travelled; and
  
  
• the number of vehicle-km travelled per in-scope vehicle.

According to the CVS, 9,770 vehicle-km and 16,290 passenger-km were travelled per capita in Canada in 2005. The second indicator tells us that, not surprisingly, heavy trucks are used the most intensively. The survey shows that, in 2005, each light vehicle, medium truck and heavy truck travelled an average annual distance of 15,990 km, 18,777 km and 73,266 km, respectively. The distance travelled per light vehicle appears to have decreased since 2000, as shown in the survey results presented in Figure 1.2. Section 4 highlights the differences in these results based on vehicle body type.

Click here to view larger image

1.4 Vehicle fuel consumption

Table 1.5 illustrates gasoline and diesel consumption in 2005, by type of vehicle. According to CVS estimates, the total consumption of gasoline and diesel in 2005 was approximately 29.5 billion litres and 10 billion litres, respectively.

Table 1.5

Fuel consumption (in millions of litres) in the provinces in 2005

Fuel Type	Light Vehicles	Medium Trucks	Heavy Trucks	Total
Gasoline	29,219.6 C	230.4 E	F	29,457.1 C
Diesel	1,260.5 E	1,337.8 B	7,478.7 A	10,076.9 A

The letter to the right of each estimate indicates its quality: A – Excellent, B – Very good, C – Good, D – Acceptable, E – Use with caution, and F – Too unreliable to be published.

Due to rounding, the numbers in the tables may not add up, and some data may differ slightly from one table to the next.

CVS data can be used to produce estimates of vehicle fuel efficiency. Table 1.6 shows estimated gasoline consumption rates based on vehicle type and fuel type for 2005. Light vehicles consumed 10.6 L/100 km; but as mentioned in section 4 of this report, gasoline consumption rates depend largely on vehicle size. The analysis in section 5 shows that a variety of factors affect the fuel consumption rates of medium and heavy trucks.

Table 1.6

Fuel consumption rates by vehicle type and fuel type in 2005

Type of Vehicle	Gasoline (L/100 km)	Diesel (L/100 km)
Light vehicles	10.6 B	11.4 D
Medium trucks	26.5 C	26.6 A
Heavy trucks	F	35.1 A

The letter to the right of each estimate indicates its quality: A – Excellent, B – Very good, C – Good, D – Acceptable, E – Use with caution, and F – Too unreliable to be published.

Due to rounding, the numbers in the tables may not add up, and some data may differ slightly from one table to the next.

⁴ Secondary energy use refers to the energy Canadians use to heat and cool their homes and workplaces, and to operate household appliances, vehicles and factories (OEE, Energy Use Data Handbook, 1990 and 1998 to 2004, August 2006).

⁵ OEE, Energy Use Data Handbook, 1990 and 1998 to 2004, August 2006.

⁶ See the glossary in Annex C for a definition of the number of in-scope vehicles in the CVS.

⁷ OEE, oee.nrcan.gc.ca/transportation/personal/buying/vehicle-selection-tips.cfm.

⁸ For more information on renewable fuels (including gasoline-ethanol blends) and alternative fuels, and their availability in Canada, please visit www.vehicles.gc.ca.

⁹ Given the confidence interval associated with these estimates, the suggested trend may not actually be as evident in reality. For more information, please refer to Annex A.

¹⁰ Since trip information is not collected in the territories, estimates of passenger-km cannot be calculated. For more information on the survey's scope and methodology, please refer to Annex B.

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