EV vs petrol cost in Northern Territory, Australia (2026) — the true 5-year total

What is different about Northern Territory's numbers

Home electricity in Northern Territory is 33.00c/kWh — level with the 33.00c Australia average (AER, 2026-08-06), which makes Northern Territory 5th 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 Northern Territory changes exactly one input on this page.

What the AER figure for Northern Territory actually is: Jacana Energy; low confidence placeholder.

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 Northern Territory lands within a dollar of its Australia-average figure — the rate we hold for Northern Territory is the national average, to the cent, while a petrol or hybrid car's total does not move by a cent — in Australia only electricity changes by state. Net effect: Northern Territory leaves the gap an EV has to close essentially where the national numbers put it. At Northern Territory 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 Northern Territory for 5 years costs $611 more than in Tasmania, the cheapest state, and $1,309 less than in South Australia, the dearest.

Running cost at Northern Territory prices: a BYD Atto 1 (Essential) draws about $5.18 of electricity per 100 km charging at home in Northern Territory with the ~12% charging loss counted, against $11.41 of petrol for a 7 L/100km car — a petrol car would have to do 3.2 L/100km to match the EV's energy bill in Northern Territory. Only the most frugal small hybrids get near that, so on energy alone an EV is still well ahead in Northern Territory. 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 Northern Territory rates leaves every one of them in exactly the position it holds nationally: Northern Territory's electricity sits close enough to the Australia average that nothing changes order.

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

Cheapest to own in Northern Territory, Australia

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

That is the Northern Territory-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 Northern Territory

None of them. That is arithmetic rather than luck in Northern Territory: the rate we hold for it is the Australia average, so all 12 head-to-head matchups land exactly where the national numbers put them. All 12 Australia matchups →

States whose numbers look like Northern Territory's

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

• Queensland → 33.3c/kWh
• Western Australia → 32.4c/kWh
• Australian Capital Territory → 30.8c/kWh
• Tasmania → 28.0c/kWh
• South Australia → 43.7c/kWh

Northern Territory 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 →