EV vs petrol cost in New South Wales, Australia (2026) — the true 5-year total

What is different about New South Wales's numbers

Home electricity in New South Wales is 38.00c/kWh — 15.2% above the 33.00c Australia average (AER, 2026-08-06), which makes New South Wales 7th cheapest of the 8 states we price, between Tasmania at 28.00c and South Australia at 43.70c. Petrol stays Australia-wide at $1.63/L (AIP), as do rego and incentives, so New South Wales changes exactly one input on this page.

What the AER figure for New South Wales actually is: AER DMO 2025-26; range 0.362-0.404. CTP Green Slip bought separately from private insurer.

Run all 52 models that have their own cost page through the kernel at both rate sets and the average electric car's 5-year total in New South Wales lands $705 above its Australia-average figure, while a petrol or hybrid car's total does not move by a cent — in Australia only electricity changes by state. Net effect: New South Wales widens the gap an EV has to close by about $705. At New South Wales rates EVs take 1 of the 12 head-to-head matchups we track, against 1 at the Australia average — we publish that whichever way it falls.

Take one car — a BYD Atto 1 (Essential) — and keeping it charged in New South Wales for 5 years costs $1,223 more than in Tasmania, the cheapest state, and $697 less than in South Australia, the dearest.

Running cost at New South Wales prices: a BYD Atto 1 (Essential) draws about $5.96 of electricity per 100 km charging at home in New South Wales with the ~12% charging loss counted, against $11.41 of petrol for a 7 L/100km car — a petrol car would have to do 3.7 L/100km to match the EV's energy bill in New South Wales. Efficient small petrol cars are already in that range, so in New South Wales the energy advantage of charging at home is thin. Energy is only one line of the total: depreciation and insurance decide the 5-year figure, which is why most of the matchups on this page still go to the petrol or hybrid car.

Sorting all 52 models by 5-year cost at New South Wales rates instead of the Australia average moves 11 of them out of the position they hold nationally. The ones New South Wales moves furthest:

• Toyota Kluger GX Hybrid AWD — 2 places better in New South Wales than at the Australia average, at $62,739 over 5 years here.
• BYD Atto 1 (Essential) — 1 place worse in New South Wales than at the Australia average, at $44,602 over 5 years here.
• BYD Atto 2 (Dynamic) — 1 place worse in New South Wales than at the Australia average, at $51,197 over 5 years here.

No model we price reaches either its cheapest or its most expensive state in New South Wales — on every one of them New South Wales sits mid-pack.

Cheapest to own in New South Wales, Australia

Ranked by true 5-year cost at New South Wales's own electricity rate (12,000 km/yr, all-in). Tap a column to sort, or filter by type:

That is the New South Wales-relevant slice of the fleet. All 52 models we price, at the Australia average rate, are on the Australia hub.

Matchups that change hands in New South Wales

None of them. All 12 head-to-head matchups come out the same way at New South Wales rates as at the Australia average: New South Wales's electricity price moves an average EV's 5-year total by $705, which is never enough to change a winner in New South Wales. All 12 Australia matchups →

States whose numbers look like New South Wales's

Closest matches to New South Wales on home electricity and pump price — where the same car lands nearest to its New South Wales total — plus the cheapest and dearest states in Australia to run an EV:

• Queensland → 33.3c/kWh
• Northern Territory → 33.0c/kWh
• Western Australia → 32.4c/kWh
• Tasmania → 28.0c/kWh
• South Australia → 43.7c/kWh

New South Wales is one of 8 states we price: see all of them, and the full 52-model directory →

Estimates for planning, not financial advice. Australia depreciation, insurance and maintenance are dated estimates calibrated to Australia sources. How we calculate →