Private vehicle owning and operating costs 2026

Appendix

Calculation periods and distances - Private Motoring

Calculations have been made for an annual distance of 15,000km in line with Australian Bureau of Statistics surveys of Australian vehicle use. They are based on buying a new vehicle and operating it for 5 years.

Residual Values

The residual values shown are sourced for each model from reputable pricing and vehicle data guides. Residual value estimates were current as of August 2026 but may be subject to change. The difference between the residual and the initial purchase price is the amount lost to depreciation during the costing period.

List prices or manufacturer’s national on-going drive away price offers, where applicable, were current at the time of compilation. Our estimated on-road price includes registration and other statutory fees and charges.

Registration and Insurance

Queensland registration costs, other statutory fees, and Compulsory Third Party (CTP) insurance costs were current as of 1 July 2026. Calculations include CTP cover (Class 1 or 6, as appropriate). Total fees may vary slightly from those used depending on the choice of CTP insurance provider. Registration costs also include the traffic improvement fee.

RACQ Comprehensive Car Insurance rates are based on a privately used vehicle driven by a 30-year-old with a $1,000 basic excess, rating 1 for life, no listed drivers under 25, and garaging in an average risk postcode. Rates also assume the vehicle is financially encumbered and insured for market value. Premiums represent the average of male and female driver rates.

Insurance premiums included in this report are indicative only and are based on the assumptions outlined in the report. They do not constitute a quote or offer of insurance. Actual premiums will depend on individual circumstances and are subject to RACQ Insurance's underwriting criteria. Premiums available from other insurers may differ.

Fuel

Fuel costs of 192.2 cents per litre (cpl) for ULP, 205.3 cpl for PULP 95, and 245.5 cpl for diesel are based on the weighted average (by number of sites) of Queensland metro and regional centres for the June quarter of calendar year 2026.

Fuel consumption data was based on the Australian Design Rule 81/01 standard fuel consumption test for the combined cycle.

For the electric vehicles, an averaged domestic electricity tariff of 28.02 cents/kWh has been used and official power consumption as provided by the manufacturer. In the case of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles which combine electric and petrol engine technologies, both the domestic electricity tariff and petrol costs have been used.

Tyres and Battery

It is assumed a replacement set of four tyres will be required. Replacement costs include fitting and balancing in conjunction with replacing the four tyres. Costs are at retail pricing. Tyre selection was based on the most suitable replacement for the original equipment branded tyre or a tyre of equivalent specification of a different brand suitable for the vehicle. A replacement 12-volt battery and fitting are included in the costing period for most vehicles. Please note that Battery Electric Vehicles also have a 12-volt battery (sperate from the main high voltage traction battery) that powers low voltage systems and activates the high voltage systems.

Service and Repairs

Maintenance costs include dealer servicing according to the manufacturer’s schedule.

Where a manufacturer offers capped price servicing, this has been factored into the costings. With certain makes and models their service inclusive program which is a one-off payment that covers servicing for an elected period of time is used. Where a maker’s capped price servicing arrangements expire earlier than our five-year calculation period, servicing reverts back to normal maker’s schedule at appropriate rates.

Conventional finance

This report sets out the costs over five years of obtaining vehicles through a conventional car loan assuming 100% of the total cost (including statutory and other on-road costs) of the new vehicles has been financed. It is assumed the loan is secured through a major Australian financial institution has a 5-year term, paid monthly, and is fully repaid at the end of the term. A market average comparison interest rate of 7.51% is applied. A green car loan (secured) with a comparison interest rate of 6.29% has been applied to eligible plug-in hybrids and battery EVs.

Novated lease

For comparison the report also sets out the costs over five years of obtaining vehicles through a Novated Lease arrangement. This provides an indication of the savings through the Fringe Benefits Tax exemption.

A novated lease arrangement is a three-way agreement between an employee, an employer, and a novated lease provider. The novated lease company arranges for the vehicle to be purchased on the employee’s behalf (with a GST discount) and then leased to the employee. The employer makes regular, automated deductions from the employee’s pre-tax salary and pays them to the leasing company to cover the car lease payments.

The on-road price for each vehicle is the same as the conventional financed model, except that Goods and Services Tax (GST) is deducted from the vehicle purchase price due to the vehicle purchaser being a business.

At the end of the lease a Leasing Balloon Payment is required to own the vehicle outright. The inclusion of the balloon payment reduces the size of lease payments during the 5-year term. Therefore, this balloon payment is added to the sum of annual costs to obtain the total 5-year costs of leasing the vehicle.

The leasing package includes the following items:

• Monthly financing payments, to cover the cost of the vehicle minus the residual payment.
• Salary package management fee.
• Service and maintenance costs over 5 years.
• Tyre replacement.
• Annual registration and CTP payments.
• Comprehensive vehicle insurance.
• Liquid fuel costs and EV charging costs.
• The service, maintenance, registration, CTP and comprehensive insurance payment are calculated as per the conventional finance model.

For each of the vehicles in the analysis, the employee leasing the vehicle is assumed to have an annual pre-tax income of $100,000, and the saving from making lease payments from pre-tax income is calculated at the marginal tax rate applying to a person on that income (30% in FY 2026-27).

As electric vehicles valued at up to $91,661 were exempt from Fringe Benefit Tax, the impact on tax payable for the employee does not include employee contributions, while the drivers obtaining an internal combustion vehicle, hybrid or PHEV contribute each year which reduces the employer’s Fringe Benefit Tax liability. This results in the income tax saving being lower for these drivers. All EVs in this report were priced below $91,661 and eligible for the Fringe Benefit Tax exemption.

Low emission and battery electric vehicles

Low emission and battery electric vehicles are identified in the tables. Hybrid electric vehicle (excluding mild hybrids) are identified as "Hybrids". Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles are identified as "PHEV". These vehicles can be charged from the electricity grid and driven in electric mode, but also have a combustion engine that is typically used when the battery is depleted. The final category is battery electric vehicles "BEV". These are vehicles that solely use electricity supplied from the grid to charge the battery and propel the vehicle. These vehicles are typically charged at home using slow AC charging, or public fast DC charger.

Internal combustion engine vehicles (or mild hybrids) fuelled solely by petrol or diesel are marked as "ICE".