Road transport | Ministry of Transport

RD027 Vehicle ownership per capita

There were 0.79 light passenger vehicles per person in New Zealand in 2017.¹

¹ www.itf-oecd.org/search/statistics-and-data?f%255B0%255D=field_publication_type%3A648 On the map click 'Passenger cars per capita'.

Definition	Vehicle ownership per capita. Light commercial is defined by vehicle type (truck under 3.5 tonnes, van, ute) rather than usage. Population: Resident population at 30 June - Infoshare DPE051AA
Nature of data	Estimate
Primary source	Vehicle numbers: Motor Vehicle Register, NZ Transport Agency; Population: Statistics NZ
Custodian of data	Ministry of Transport
URL	This data has not been previously published.
Frequency	Annual
Disaggregation	National
Quality of the data	Reliable
Next Update	September

RD028 Vehicle ownership per capita by region

Vehicle ownership per capita is highest in Nelson-Tasman-Marlborough, and lowest in Wellington.

Definition	Light vehicle ownership per capita by region. The regional locations are established from the WoF/CoF inspection location rather than the owner address, to avoid the vehicles registered to the Auckland Head Office effect.
Nature of data	Estimate
Primary source	Vehicle numbers: Motor Vehicle Register, NZ Transport Agency; Population: Statistics NZ, population is resident population at 30 June for each year - Infoshare DPE051AA
Custodian of data	Ministry of Transport
URL	https://transport.govt.nz/assets/Uploads/Data/NZ-Vehicle-Fleet-Graphs-2016-web3.xlsx - annual fleet report spreadsheet tab "1.5b". Note: in the data shown here, vehicles with unknown regions have been assigned to a region in proportion to the vehicles with known regions. In the per capita figures in the annual fleet report spreadsheet, vehicles with unknown regions are listed separately.
Frequency	Annual
Disaggregation	By region
Quality of the data	Reliable
Next Update	September

RD036 Households with access to motor vehicles

In 2013, 92.1% of households owned at least 1 car — 37.6% owned 1 car, 38.4% 2 cars, and 16.1% 3 or more cars. There are now more 2-vehicle than 1-vehicle households.

Definition	Households with access to a motor vehicle (one or more)
Nature of data	Quantitative, survey based
Primary source	New Zealand Census, Statistics NZ
Custodian of data	New Zealand Census, Statistics NZ
URL	http://nzdotstat.stats.govt.nz/wbos/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=TABLECODE8011#; go to ‘2013 Census’->’Transport and Communications’-> ‘Number of motor vehicles'. Note: 1996 Census data appears to be no longer available on this website.
Frequency	Every five years
Disaggregation	National
Quality of the data	Reliable
Next Update	August 2019

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Ngā waka rori Road transport

Vehicle ownership

RD027 Vehicle ownership per capita

RD028 Vehicle ownership per capita by region

RD036 Households with access to motor vehicles