Light Vehicle Emissions Intensity in Australia: Trends Over Time report

Our Light Vehicle Emissions Intensity in Australia: Trends Over Time report looks at carbon dioxide emissions from 17 million cars registered and running on our roads at January 2025.

It’s a comprehensive report on vehicle emissions intensity that goes beyond new vehicle sales by drawing on vehicle registration data.

With petrol generating 2.3 kg of carbon dioxide for every litre of petrol used, shifting toward lower emitting vehicles will be essential in cutting transport's 22 percent share of Australia’s carbon dioxide emissions.

Our report looks back to 2003 and the cars registered each year since then. It gives us a time series that shows the rate at which we are cutting light vehicle emissions. 

• emissions intensity from light vehicles first registered in 2024 fell by 3.9 percent following a 5 percent drop the previous year.  
• average emissions for all registered light vehicles since 2003, is now 191 g/km, down from 194 g/km a year ago.
• newly registered vehicles average 156 g/km – down from 252 g/km for vehicles first registered in 2003.  
• more than 600,000 hybrids registered up 171,000.
• 17 percent of new registrations since 2021 were hybrid and electric.
• new registrations of petrol-only vehicles dropped by 50,000 from 568,000 to 518,000 – down from 715,000 first registered in 2017.
• 240,417 registered battery electric vehicles (BEV) – up 89,680 from a year ago and accounted for 13 percent of new registrations in 2024.
• 173 models of BEVs were first registered in 2024 up from 127 models the previous year.
• average mass for all light vehicles grew by 13 percent between 2003 and 2024.  
• utes and pick-ups entering the fleet for the first time in 2024 had an average footprint of 10.28 m² – 1.6 m² larger than in 2003.  

Discover how emissions trends are evolving and how different vehicle types contribute to Australia’s carbon footprint.

Download the full report here.

An infographic of the report’s key highlights can also be accessed here.

For further information or media inquiries, please send us an email. 
 

Explore our data dashboard below to find out more about the vehicle you drive, how emissions are tracking where you live – and more.