The Theme
This map shows the percentage of small utility vehicles in the
total sales of light-duty vehicles with the model year 1990 for
the populated area of each census division. The year, 1990, is the
reference year for the target of greenhouse gas reductions for the
Kyoto
Protocol.
Light-duty vehicles include all cars and light trucks. The light-duty
vehicle size classes, defined by the US Environmental Protection
Agency, were adopted for the vehicle classification. This classification
has 15 classes: six classes for automobiles, six classes for light
trucks, and three classes for station wagons. Among these 15 classes,
seven prominent classes account for the large majority of new light-duty
vehicle sales in each census division. The prominent classes are subcompact cars, compact cars, midsize cars, large cars, small vans,
small utility vehicles and large pickups. The remaining classes
include two seater cars, minicompacts, small pickups, large vans,
large utility vehicles, and three size classes of wagons.
Note that there are no data available for the Territories.
Relation to Climate Change
Because vehicles consume a substantial part of energy in Canada,
average vehicle fuel efficiency is an important indicator for greenhouse
gas emission and climate change policy making. The lower the fuel
efficiency, the higher the emission per vehicle, and, consequently,
the greater the contribution to greenhouse gases. Average new light
duty vehicle fuel efficiency, which measures miles travelled per
gallon, is defined by averaging the tested fuel efficiency
rating for each vehicle's class, weighted by that class' market
share in each census division. Vehicle market share is therefore
one of the two determinants to vehicle fuel efficiency. Small utility
vehicles are among the least fuel-efficient light vehicles. Thus,
a high market share of this vehicle class would lower the average
fuel efficiency for a particular area.
Spatial Variation
There are significant spatial variations in the market share of
small utility vehicles with the model year 1990 across Canada. Relatively
high market shares are found in parts of British Columbia, while
Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and the southern Quebec have the lowest
market shares of this vehicle class. It also appears that, proportionally,
more small utilities are used in rural areas than in urban areas.
However, Vancouver is an exception given that small utility vehicles
are very common.
Data Source
The measures for this map were derived by the GeoAccess Division
of Natural Resources Canada, based on the 1992 Canadian Vehicle
in Operation Census database, produced by DesRosiers Automotive
Consultants of Toronto. The fuel consumption
ratings and vehicle size classification information were added into
the database by the Transportation Energy Use Division, Energy Sector,
Natural Resources Canada.
The digital data for this map can be downloaded
here.
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