EV vs Gas 5-Year Cost Index 2026

Methodology & assumptions

Each row is produced by EVCostIQ's cost engine — the same one behind every market calculator — over a 5-year hold. For each market we rank that market's own tracked fleet by total cost of ownership at its dated local electricity and fuel rates and its typical annual distance (for example 12,000 mi/yr in the U.S.), then read off the cheapest car overall and the cheapest electric car. The five-year total counts depreciation, energy (home charging with the ~12% AC charging loss most calculators omit, or fuel), maintenance, insurance, registration or road tax, and financing interest. Purchase incentives are shown on each market's pages but are not folded into these headline totals.

Limitations — read these before quoting a figure. Totals are in each market's local currency and are not directly comparable across currencies; only the counts and the within-market gaps are. Tracked-fleet coverage varies by market, so “cheapest car” means cheapest among the models we track there, not every car on sale. Depreciation, insurance and maintenance are transparent, dated estimates calibrated to public sources, not licensed third-party valuations. Rates carry the as-of date shown in each row. Singapore is excluded (bespoke COE/ARF model). Figures are estimates for planning, not financial advice.

Source: EVCostIQ original analysis across 35 national markets, August 6, 2026. Attribution: “EVCostIQ EV vs Gas 5-Year Cost Index 2026 (evcostiq.com).”