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

What is different about Victoria's numbers

Home electricity in Victoria is 30.00c/kWh — 9.1% below the 33.00c Australia average (AER, 2026-08-06), which makes Victoria 2nd 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 Victoria changes exactly one input on this page.

What the AER figure for Victoria actually is: Set by Essential Services Commission (VDO), not AER; range 0.26-0.33.

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 Victoria lands $423 below 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: Victoria narrows the gap an EV has to close by about $423. At Victoria 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 Victoria for 5 years costs $244 more than in Tasmania, the cheapest state, and $1,676 less than in South Australia, the dearest.

Running cost at Victoria prices: a BYD Atto 1 (Essential) draws about $4.70 of electricity per 100 km charging at home in Victoria with the ~12% charging loss counted, against $11.41 of petrol for a 7 L/100km car — a petrol car would have to do 2.9 L/100km to match the EV's energy bill in Victoria. Only the most frugal small hybrids get near that, so on energy alone an EV is still well ahead in Victoria. 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 Victoria rates instead of the Australia average moves 15 of them out of the position they hold nationally. The ones Victoria moves furthest:

• GWM Ora 5 — 3 places better in Victoria than at the Australia average, at $51,856 over 5 years here.
• Toyota HiLux — 2 places worse in Victoria than at the Australia average, at $71,119 over 5 years here.
• BYD Dolphin — 1 place better in Victoria than at the Australia average, at $49,589 over 5 years here.

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

Cheapest to own in Victoria, Australia

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

That is the Victoria-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 Victoria

None of them. All 12 head-to-head matchups come out the same way at Victoria rates as at the Australia average: Victoria's electricity price moves an average EV's 5-year total by $423, which is never enough to change a winner in Victoria. All 12 Australia matchups →

States whose numbers look like Victoria's

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

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

Victoria 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 →