For the first time, data on the cargo carried by freight buses in Latvia is available.

For the first time, the Central Statistical Bureau (CSB) has compiled and published detailed data on the use of light utility vehicles registered in Latvia with a gross vehicle weight of up to 3.5 tonnes (category N1), analysing their actual movement intensity, frequency of use by the day of the week and distance of trips made. The data allows you to assess usage patterns of this vehicle segment and provides insight into the trends of different usage patterns between enterprises and individuals.

According to the Road Safety Directorate (CSDD), on 1 January 2025 there were less than 70 thousand light utility vehicles registered in Latvia with a gross vehicle weight of up to 3.5 tonnes (category N1). Since 2017, the number of these vehicles in the country has increased by 31 % and continues its stable growth by at least 3 % annually, with the sharpest rise in 2022 against 2021, which is largely due to the impact of the pandemic on the logistics and delivery sector. Despite the growth of this road fleet, there has been no comprehensive information available in Latvia on the use of N1 vehicles – their utilization, usage patterns, volume and types of freight carried, and route characteristics, including the number and distribution of stops.

To address this data gap, the Central Statistical Bureau (hereinafter CSB) has carried out a special study on light utility vehicles for the first time in 2024.

In the territory of Latvia, freight transport by road is important, its share in national transport is increasing, while the volume of national freights by rail is decreasing. In 2024, freight transport by road accounted for 54 % of the total tonne-kilometres of freight, of which category N1 transport accounted for only 1 %, while kilometres travelled by N1 accounted for almost half of the total mileage of goods vehicles¹.

Usage intensity of N1 vehicles

In 2024, 42.2 % of category N1 vehicles registered in Latvia were used daily during the survey period. A similar observation has been confirmed by colleagues from the statistical offices of Switzerland² and Austria. 

The most common reason for not using was downtime (51.8 %), which suggests the seasonality of the use of such vehicles, followed by a driver's holiday (20.5 %) and repair of the vehicle (14.5 %). In other cases, another reason (7.7 %) or that the vehicle was leased (5.5 %) was indicated as the reason for not using the vehicle.

Number of trips, kilometres travelled and number of stops made by N1 vehicles

In 2024, a total of 12.7 million trips with light utility vehicles were made, which on average is almost 35 thousand trips per day. Only 27 % of all trips were made with freight, the rest of the trips were made with working tools and equipment or with no freight.

According to the study, the main purpose of using category N1 vehicles in Latvia is the provision of services rather than the transport of freight. Most trips (9 million) were made by vehicles used for service provision, economic activities, construction, and private purposes. These include tasks such as repairs, area surveys, and even the transportation of living beings³.

Only 3.4 million trips were made for freight transport purposes, while the least trips were made for purposes of postal and courier services (360.5 thousand).

Due to population density, nearly 60 % of all trips (7.3 million) were made within Functional Urban Areas, while the remaining 5.4 million trips were made outside these areas.

In 2024, the highest activity in terms of the total number of trips for N1 vehicles was in the middle of the week – on Wednesdays and Thursdays (40.5 %), but the lowest – on Saturdays and Sundays (8.9 %).

The average distance travelled per day in 2024 was 74.6 km, while the average distance travelled per day by vehicles used for postal and courier services was the longest – 124.6 km. In 2022, a similar observation on the average distance travelled by postal and courier deliveries was made in Sweden⁴.

According to survey data, vehicles in category N1 travelled a total of 536.5 million kilometres within Latvia in 2024 – 27.6 % more than the distance covered by heavy utility vehicles (with a vehicle weight exceeding 3.5 tonnes) on the territory of Latvia in 2024. Like the number of trips, most kilometres were made with no freight (334.5 million kilometres) and for provision of services (198.2 million kilometres), followed by freight transport (176.2 million kilometres). The least was travelled by vehicles used for postal and courier services in the territory of Latvia (40.6 million kilometres).

In 2024, category N1 vehicles made a total of 38.9 million stops, of which 37.1 % were made by vehicles used for freight transport, 25.7 % by vehicles used for activities in other sectors and 22.2 % by vehicles used for postal and courier services.

On average, category N1 vehicles made 5.3 stops per day in 2024. Vehicles used for postal and courier services made 26.9 stops per day, while vehicles used for freight transport made 7.6 stops.

The number of trips made by light utility vehicles and kilometres travelled by the purpose of use

Tonnes and tonne-kilometres of freights transported by N1 vehicles

In total, trucks (of category N1, N2, N3) registered in Latvia transported 62.3 million tonnes of freight, of which 1.6 % or 991.1 thousand were transported by category N1 vehicles. On average, category N1 vehicles transported 141.4 kg of freight per day in 2024. On average, category N1 vehicles transported 494.3 kg of freight for the provision of mail and courier services.

63,7 % of freight transported on the territory of Latvia was carried by light utility vehicles used for freight transport, of which 36.1 % was transported for commercial purposes and 27.5 % for own-account. 16.6 % of the freight was transported by vehicles used for postal and courier services, 9.6 % of the freight was transported by vehicles used for activities in other sectors, 8.5 % of the freight was transported by vehicles used for transport in construction, and 1.6 % of the freight was carried by vehicles used for other purposes, e.g., for private purposes.

In 2024, category N1 vehicles mostly transported freights of various types⁵, such as agricultural, hunting and forestry products, chemicals, non-metallic mineral products, etc. (258.5 thousand tonnes). 200 thousand tonnes of unidentified goods, 185.3 thousand tonnes of food, beverages or tobacco, and 159.4 thousand tonnes of mail and parcels.

In 2024, the turnover of freights transported by category N1 vehicles registered in Latvia was 87.8 million tonne-kilometres. Of which, 59.5 million tonne-kilometres were driven by vehicles used for the transport of specific goods and 21.9 million tonne-kilometres – for the transport of food, beverages or tobacco.

Freight turnover of heavy utility vehicles by type of freight transported in Latvia

On the survey and the characterisation of N1 road fleet

In 2024, within the framework of Eurostat project ‘Development of new transport statistics’ Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia (CSB) conducted, for the first time, a survey on light utility vehicles registered in Latvia with a gross vehicle weight of up to 3.5 tonnes, their amount, delivering freights, goods and shipments, providing courier or other services (forestry, property management, construction, etc.).

The study involved a sample of vehicles from the CSDD vehicle register that were not older than 25 years and had a valid roadworthiness certificate in the survey quarter, and that were not classified as special-purpose vehicles. On 1 January 2025, under the sampling provisions, 49 995 such vehicles were registered in Latvia, 68 % of which were owned by legal persons, and 32 % by natural persons. According to NACE Rev. 2.1, 38 % of vehicles were registered in construction (F) and wholesale and retail trade (G) sectors.

Almost 60 % of light utility vehicles registered in Latvia are between 10 and 25 years old, with an average age of 12 years. In contrast, the share of new vehicles (up to 5 years) is 17.7 % of the total share and it continues to grow slightly in recent years.

96 5 % of category N1 vehicles use diesel and only 0.5 % use electricity. Although only 258 category N1 vehicles with an electric motor have been registered in Latvia at the beginning of the year, in the last 5 years such N1 vehicles have increased eight times.

Almost 50 % of the registered N1 vehicles are vehicles of Volkswagen and Renault brand. Caddy, Transporter and Crafter are the most common models of Volkswagen brand, while Master, Trafic and Kangoo are the most common models of Renault brand.

Data on N1 has high demand in traffic and transport models, when planning zero emission zones in cities, for climate change, as well as for the needs of electric charging stations and other infrastructure.

Methodological explanations

¹ Data for 2023, according to the CSDD calculation for odometer reading in the calendar year.

² Switzerland carried out a survey on N1 vehicles in 2023.

³ Activity in other sectors including transport of machines and tools, carrying out repairs, where operations of loading/unloading do not constitute the main substance of the service, e.g., telecommunication, forestry, sectors related to water, heat, gas supply, air purification, sewerage, etc.

⁴ A similar survey on light utility vehicles was carried out in Sweden in 2022, the results of which was published in 2023.

⁵ According to NTS 2007 classification, the group of goods combines Agricultural, hunting and forestry products; fish and other fishing products; Wood, products of wood and cork (except furniture); articles of straw or plaiting materials; pulp, paper and paper products; printed matter and recorded media; Chemicals, chemical products, and man-made fibres; rubber and plastic products; nuclear fuel; Other non-metallic mineral products; Secondary raw materials; municipal wastes and other wastes.

Media requests:
Public Relations Section
E-mail: media@csp.gov.lv
Phone: +371 27880666

More information on the data:
Agnese Šaltene
Environment Statistics Survey Design Section
E-mail: Agnese.Saltene@csp.gov.lv
Phone.: +371 67366608