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

What is different about Queensland's numbers

Home electricity in Queensland is 33.30c/kWh — level with the 33.00c Australia average (AER, 2026-08-06), which makes Queensland 6th 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 Queensland changes exactly one input on this page.

What the AER figure for Queensland actually is: SE QLD / Energex (AER DMO 2025-26).

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 Queensland lands $42 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: Queensland widens the gap an EV has to close by about $42. At Queensland 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 Queensland for 5 years costs $648 more than in Tasmania, the cheapest state, and $1,272 less than in South Australia, the dearest.

Running cost at Queensland prices: a BYD Atto 1 (Essential) draws about $5.22 of electricity per 100 km charging at home in Queensland 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 Queensland. Only the most frugal small hybrids get near that, so on energy alone an EV is still well ahead in Queensland. 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 Queensland rates instead of the Australia average moves 2 of them out of the position they hold nationally. The ones Queensland moves furthest:

• BYD Atto 1 (Essential) — 1 place worse in Queensland than at the Australia average, at $44,027 over 5 years here.
• Toyota Corolla — 1 place better in Queensland than at the Australia average, at $44,016 over 5 years here.

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

Cheapest to own in Queensland, Australia

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

That is the Queensland-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 Queensland

None of them. All 12 head-to-head matchups come out the same way at Queensland rates as at the Australia average: Queensland's electricity price moves an average EV's 5-year total by $42, which is never enough to change a winner in Queensland. All 12 Australia matchups →

States whose numbers look like Queensland's

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

• Northern Territory → 33.0c/kWh
• Western Australia → 32.4c/kWh
• Australian Capital Territory → 30.8c/kWh
• Tasmania → 28.0c/kWh
• South Australia → 43.7c/kWh

Queensland 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 →