🛻 Introduction to Transport on OnlyFacts

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Why Transport Data Matters

• Transport accounts for roughly 15% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions.
• In Australia, transport is responsible for 22% of the country’s emissions.
  • Road transport alone makes up 85% of that.

What OnlyFacts Covers

We cover transport data through two lenses:

1. As a sub-topic within Emissions (focused on transport-related emissions).
2. As a major topic on its own (covering vehicle sales, registrations, and fuel consumption).

Navigating Transport Emissions

You’ll find Transport Emissions data in the Emissions section of the site.

• The default view shows Australia-wide data.
• Use the geolocation dropdown (top right) to switch to state or territory dashboards.

📌 Tip: Some state dashboards include national data—this happens when state-level data isn't available for certain metrics.

Why does state-level data appear more delayed?

• State emissions data tends to be lagged compared to national data because of longer reporting cycles.
• National data is released quarterly and is five months behind. State data is released annually and is roughly two years behind.

What’s Included in the Transport Emissions Dashboards?

The Transport dashboard provides: 

• Total Transport Emissions
• Breakdowns by state and territory
• Retrospective data revisions

Related Dashboard: Road Transport Emissions

The Road Transport dashboard provides: 

• Total Road Transport Emissions
• Breakdowns by state and territory
• Breakdowns by road transport type (cars, trucks, buses, etc.)

📌 Use the geolocation dropdown to switch between national and state-level views.

Navigating Transport (Beyond Emissions)

In addition to being part of emissions tracking, transport is also a major standalone topic with multiple dashboards.

What’s in the Main Transport Dashboard?

• All vehicle sales (national dashboard only)
• All vehicle registrations
• Fuel consumption (a faster proxy for understanding trends while emissions data catches up; national dashboard only)

Electric Vehicles (EVs) & the EV Revolution

Given their growing role in decarbonisation, EVs get their own dedicated dashboards. Key EV Dashboards:

• EV Main Dashboard – Summarises sales and registrations.
• EV Sales Dashboard – View EV sales globally and in Australia.
• EV Registrations Dashboard – View registrations at multiple levels:
  • Countries, Australia, States & territories, Local Government Areas (LGAs), Postcodes

How to Access Local EV Data

📌 EV sales are only available at the national level. For local-level data, use EV registrations.

How to Find EV Registrations in Your State 

• Go to the EV Registrations Dashboard.
• Use the geodropdown to select your state or territory.
• Or scroll down to the brackets showing states and territories. 

How to Find EV Registrations in Your Local Area

Option 1: Go directly to the full lists from the Global Menu > Data by Location > LGAs / Postcodes

• 🔗 LGAs
• 🔗 Postcodes

Option 2: Go via the EV Registrations Dashboard:

• Go to the EV Registrations Dashboard.
• Scroll down to the brackets showing top 10 LGAs and postcodes in Australia.
• Click the buttons showing ‘All LGAs’ or ‘All Postcodes’ for the full lists.

How to Read Transport Data

1. EV + PHEV Grouping

• We combine EVs (Battery Electric Vehicles, BEVs) and PHEVs (Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles) under one category.
  • Why? We're following the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) lead. The IEA defines “electric vehicles” (EVs) as: "Battery electric (BEV) and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) vehicles, excluding fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV)."
  • What this means for you: If a dataset mentions 'EVs', it includes both BEVs and PHEVs, unless otherwise stated.

2. Vehicle Registrations by Location

• The location of vehicles is based on where a vehicle is garaged.
  • If garaging data isn’t available, the registered postcode is used instead (BITRE methodology).
  • A vehicle’s registered postcode may not match the state or territory it's registered in.

Data Sources & Updates

• Global EV registrations & sales – International Energy Agency (IEA) (Updated annually)
• EV & fuel vehicle sales in Australia – Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) (Updated monthly)
• Australian vehicle registrations – Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Research Economics (BITRE) (Updated annually)

Get Started: Explore Transport Data

Step 1: View the Main Transport Dashboard

• Go to the Transport Dashboard
  • You’ll see national-level vehicle sales & registrations.
  • Use the geo dropdown to explore state-level data.

Step 2: Explore EV Sales

• Go to the EV Sales Dashboard
  • You'll see EV sales worldwide and in Australia.
  • Click ‘All Countries’ for a full global list.

Step 3: Find Local EV Registrations

• Go to the EV Registrations Dashboard
  • You'll see registrations by country, state, LGA, and postcode.
  • Click on any state, LGA or postcode name for a detailed data history.

How to Make the Most of the Data

• For the latest trends: Check last month’s sales percentages for petrol vs diesel vs EVs.
• For the big picture: Explore vehicle registrations to track long-term shifts.
• For insights beyond sales & registrations: Use fuel consumption data as a fast proxy for understanding transport trends and emissions impact.

Visit the Transport Dashboard now.