This report details the major trends in U.S. light-duty vehicle and medium/heavy truck markets as well as the underlying trends that caused them. This report is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy s (DOE) Vehicle Technologies Program (VTP), and, in accord with its mission, pays special attention to the progress of high-efficiency and alternative-fuel technologies. This third edition since this report was started in 2008 offers several marked improvements relative to its predecessors. Most significantly, where earlier editions of this report focused on supplying information through an examination of market drivers, new vehicle trends, and supplier data, this edition uses a different structure. After opening with a discussion of energy and economics, this report features a section each on the light-duty vehicle and heavy/medium truck markets, and concluding with a section each on technology and policy. In addition to making this sectional re-alignment, this year s edition of the report also takes a different approach to communicating information. While previous editions relied heavily on text accompanied by auxiliary figures, this third edition relies primarily on charts and graphs to communicate trends. Any accompanying text serves to introduce the trends communication by the graphic and highlight any particularly salient observations. The opening section on Energy and Economics discusses the role of transportation energy and vehicle markets on a national (and even international) scale. For example, Figures 11 through 13 discuss the connections between global oil prices and U.S. GDP, and Figures 20 and 21 show U.S. employment in the automotive sector. The following section examines Light-Duty Vehicle use, markets, manufacture, and supply chains. Figures 26 through 33 offer snapshots of major light-duty vehicle brands in the U.S. and Figures 38 through 43 examine the performance and efficiency characteristics of vehicles sold. The discussion of Medium and Heavy Trucks offers information on truck sales (Figures 58 through 61) and fuel use (Figures 64 through 66). The Technology section offers information on alternative fuel vehicles and infrastructure (Figures 68 through 77), and the Policy section concludes with information on recent, current, and near-future Federal policies like the Cash for Clunkers program (Figures 87 and 88) and the Corporate Automotive Fuel Economy standard (Figures 90 through 99) and. In total, the information contained in this report is intended to communicate a fairly complete understanding of U.S. highway transportation energy through a series of easily digestible nuggets.
