Energy efficiency index for transport

  • Energy efficiency of transport improved by 0.7%/year, on average, between 2000 and 2021, as measured by ODEX that combines the energy efficiency trends of the different modes of transport (cars, trucks and light vehicles, bus, motorcycles, air, waterways, rail).
  • Energy efficiency progress for cars was slower (0.3%/year), and quite low since 2014, because of an increase in the specific consumption of new cars, due to two main factors: a decrease in diesel shares (from 56% in 2012 to 21% in 2021) and a growing share of SUV (from 25% to around 45%).
  • For trucks and light vehicles energy efficiency has been improving rapidly since 2012 (1.5%/year). There was no efficiency progress between 2008 and 2012 because of the economic crisis.
  • Important energy efficiency progress was achieved in rail transport (2.2%/year) and domestic air (1.1%/year).

Energy efficiency index by mode (EU)

  • Discrepancies in energy efficiency gains in EU countries: from around 2.5%/year in Greece and Romania to less than 0.5%/year in Hungary, Czechia, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Belgium and Croatia.

Energy efficiency gains for transport by country (2000-2021)