EVs and hybrids join mainstream vehicle comparisons, but fuel savings don’t offset higher costs of ownership
Orlando, Fla.—A new analysis finds that the average annual cost to own and operate a new vehicle is $12,863, or $1,071.92 per month.
It reflects continued increases from fuel prices, depreciation, and finance charges. In 2025, the total annual cost was estimated at $11,577, or $964.78 per month.
This year’s Your Driving Costs (YDC) analysis by AAA integrates select EVs and hybrids into standard vehicle categories that used to be exclusively traditional gas-powered models, reflecting their growing share in the new car market.
Key Cost Themes
- Fuel Prices — At the time of the study, the regular-grade gasoline used by nearly all YDC vehicles averaged $4.152 per gallon, while electricity for home EV charging averaged 18.0 cents per kilowatt hour. Gas prices are up 31.8% compared to 2025, while electricity prices rose only 7.8%, improving the relative affordability of EVs and hybrids; however, fuel economy alone did not determine the most affordable vehicle to own.
- Depreciation — The difference between a car’s purchase price and resale value remains the single largest ownership cost, with vehicles losing a weighted average of $4,422 per year. Vehicle type and purchase price both have a significant effect on depreciation for EV shoppers; for example, EV medium sedans had about twice the depreciation of gas-powered models, helping push total ownership costs 29.1% higher in that category.
- Car Prices — The sales-weighted average MSRP of new vehicles this year is $39,376. While MSRPs increased slightly on average, incentives, demand and rebates can affect what consumers ultimately pay. The actual purchase price is used to calculate finance costs and depreciation.
EV and Hybrid Comparison Takeaways
By comparing select electric and hybrid models within the same categories as gas-powered vehicles, AAA provides a more practical view of how ownership costs compare across powertrains.
- Gas-powered vehicles: Overall, gas models offered savings compared to EVs and hybrids in cost categories affected by purchase price, such as finance charges, taxes and fees, and depreciation. For example, gas-powered medium sedans cost $10,582 per year to own — $3,080 less than comparable EV medium sedans, which had significantly higher depreciation, fees and finance costs.
- Electric vehicles: EVs delivered the lowest fuel costs, with charging costs for EVs about 66%–70% lower than fuel costs for traditional gas vehicles across the categories studied. However, those savings were often outweighed by higher depreciation, fees and finance costs; medium-sedan EVs, for example, cost 29.1% more to own annually than gas-powered models.
- Hybrids: Hybrids were the most consistently lower-cost alternative to gas in the comparison categories. They combined meaningful fuel savings with smaller ownership-cost tradeoffs, costing less annually than gas-powered models in medium sedans, compact SUVs, medium SUVs and pickup trucks.
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