
Research: Motorization Trends

Motorization trends have implications for transportation revenues, particularly for roadway infrastructure planning and investment.
In their most recent work, Motorization Trends in Minnesota: 1980-2021, TPEC researchers analyzed motorization trends in Minnesota between 1980 and 2021. Selected findings:
- The number of registered vehicles has continually increased since 1980, although growth has slowed since the 2000s.
- The number of registered vehicles per capita and per county declined significantly in recent years.
- Fuel consumption increased between 1980 and 2021 but decreased per capita.
- The growth rate for electric vehicles was 44.2 percent between 2020 and 2021.
To date, revenues from vehicle registrations and the vehicle sales tax have offset the lower share of dollars from federal and state fuel taxes. However, vehicle efficiency standards and the growth of EVs will continue to reduce fuel-tax revenues.
Overall, Minnesota’s trends are consistent with national patterns. The persistence of these trends could cause state revenues to decline continuously unless the roadway funding structure is adjusted.