Drivers of Transportation Fuel Demand

The transportation sector accounts for about 25 percent of all energy consumed worldwide and light duty vehicles constitute the largest portion of this. The policy has a significant role in increasing vehicle fuel efficiency and expanding the reach of alternatively fueled vehicles.

Many government policies are currently in place to promote greater vehicle fuel efficiency and market penetration of alternative fuel vehicles, especially electric vehicles.

Nonetheless, light-duty electric vehicle sales remain modest in major markets such as China and the United States, where they have reached just 1 percent of total new vehicle sales. In contrast, policies in Norway have led to a 14 percent new vehicle market share for electric vehicles.

Replicating successful Norwegian policies in other countries could prove challenging, as there are impediments to significant future electric vehicle penetration in those markets, such as competing long-term fiscal commitments and increasing fuel efficiency by existing internal combustion engine technology

About the Project:

The workshop series “Drivers of Transportation Fuel Demand” provides a forum for discussing key sustainability issues in transportation and current policy strategies to address them. In particular, much emphasis is placed on the adoption of fuel-efficient and alternative fuel vehicles for road transportation, innovation in fuel and vehicle technology mixes and the shift from road to other modes of transportation.