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An Australian Bureau of Statistics study of motor vehicle usage has found 13 per cent of households are now driving diesel-powered vehicles, up from 9 per cent just three years earlier.

"For the first time the number of Australian households that opted to use diesel to power their main motor vehicle has hit the one million mark," said Andrew Cadogan-Cowper the director of the ABS Centre of Environment Statistics.

Unleaded petrol remains the most popular fuel for households, with 83 per cent using petrol-engined cars.

However, within petrol-powered vehicles, there has been a distinct shift away from basic unleaded to premium fuels, with 14 per cent of households now using premium, up from just 8 per cent in 2009.

According to the Australian Institute of Petroleum the national average price of diesel for the week ending October 21, was 152.7 cents-per-litre.