Australian Bureau of Statistics
1301.0 - Year Book Australia, 2001
Previous ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 25/01/2001
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AUSTRALIA'S MOTOR VEHICLE FLEET SINCE THE 1920s
New South Wales recorded the highest number of registrations in 1947-48 with over a third of the entire vehicle fleet, due primarily to its higher population. Victoria accounted for 29%, Queensland 16%, South Australia 11%, Western Australia 7% and Tasmania 3%. In 1999, New South Wales was still the leading State although its proportion of total vehicle registrations had fallen to 30%. Victoria'sand South Australia's shares (27% and 8% respectively) had also fallen since 1947-48, while Tasmania's had remained steady. The significant rises in the proportion of registrations in Queensland (19%), the Australian Capital Territory (2%) and particularly of Western Australia (11%) were a consequence of changing population growth.
The average age of vehicles in the fleet was estimated at 11.3 years in 1947-48, slightly higher than the figure of 10.6 years in 1999. The high average vehicle age in 1947-48 reflected low production rates of vehicles during the war period, and the resulting low rate of new vehicle registrations at the time. In the intervening period, this figure fell to an estimated age of 6.1 years in 1971 with the increasing numbers of new vehicles joining the fleet. It then rose steadily to reach a peak of 10.7 in both 1997 and 1998. Likely factors contributing to this rise were the large increase in the proportion of households with two or more vehicles, the improved reliability of vehicles, enabling them to be kept on the road longer, and the increased cost of replacing vehicles.
In 1947-48, passenger vehicles accounted for 61% of the total vehicle fleet, with light commercial vehicle and trucks together accounting for 35%. By 1999 these figures had changed to 81% and 18%, respectively.
The top five makes of passenger vehicles accounted for 51% and the top 10 for 71% of all registered passenger vehicles in 1947-48. The top five makes were Chevrolet (16%), Ford (16%), Vauxhall (7%), Dodge (6%) and Morris (6%). By 1999 the top five makes together accounted for 75% of total passenger vehicle registrations. The top five makes were Ford with 21% of all passenger vehicle registrations, Holden (20%), Toyota (17%), Mitsubishi (10%) and Nissan (8%). In contrast, four of the top five makes in 1947-48 (Chevrolet, Vauxhall, Dodge and Morris) accounted for less than half of one per cent of registrations in 1999.
The makeup of the truck fleet is now much less concentrated than in 1947-48, when the top two makes, Ford and Chevrolet, together accounted for over half of all registrations. In 1999, the top five makes, International, Isuzu, Ford, Mitsubishi and Hino, together accounted for about the same proportion. Ford and Chevrolet were also the dominant makes in the light commercial vehicle fleet in 1947-48 with just under half of total registrations. In 1999 Toyota, Ford and Holden dominated this segment with about 68% of registrations.
Only about 5% of all commercial vehicles (with a reported carrying capacity) were capable of carrying loads of 100 hundredweight or more in 1947-48, the equivalent of 5.08 tonnes or more. In contrast, over 55% of rigid trucks registered in 1999 had a gross vehicle mass (weight of the vehicle including a full load) of 8 tonnes and over.
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This page last updated 3 October 2007