9208.0 - Survey of Motor Vehicle Use, Australia, Oct 2002  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 25/09/2003   
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MEDIA RELEASE

September 25, 2003
Embargoed: 11:30 AM (AEST)
101/2003

Australian vehicles clock up the kilometres

Australian vehicles travelled an average of 15,000 kilometres, or the equivalent of five trips from Adelaide to Darwin, in the 12 months to 31 October 2002 according to figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

Vehicles registered in Australia drove over 192 billion kilometres in the year to 31 October 2002, an increase of 15% (24 billion kilometres) since 1998.

Passenger vehicles accounted for more than three-quarters of the total distance travelled with each travelling an average of 14,200 kilometres in the survey period or 39 kilometres each day.

Passenger vehicles registered in the Northern Territory recorded the highest average distance travelled (15,600 kilometres), while those in Tasmania recorded the lowest (12,700 kilometres).

Articulated trucks travelled the greatest average distance of any vehicle type with 88,200 kilometres, almost six times greater than the average for the total motor vehicle fleet. Motorcycles recorded the lowest average of 4,600 kilometres.


Personal use accounted for over half of the total kilometres travelled by passenger vehicles in Australia, with travel to and from work and travel for business use accounting for the remaining kilometres.

States with the largest populations had the largest share of the motor vehicle fleet and also recorded the bulk of the total distance travelled. Vehicles registered in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland accounted for more than three-quarters of the total national distance travelled.

More than 26 billion litres of fuel was consumed by registered vehicles in 2002. The majority of this fuel was petrol. Use of unleaded petrol by passenger vehicles increased from 10 billion litres (73% of total passenger vehicle petrol consumption) in 1998 to 13 billion litres (90%) in 2002.

Further details are in Survey of Motor Vehicle Use (cat. no. 9208.0).