Electric or gas car: what does it really cost to own one in Mexico?

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ISAN exemption: 100% electric cars (BEVs) are exempt from ISAN (Impuesto Sobre Automóviles Nuevos — Mexico's new-vehicle tax) at purchase. A hybrid with a combustion engine may pay ISAN partially. Because ISAN is a progressive percentage of the vehicle's price, its value changes model by model, so we do not subtract it as a fixed figure from the total cost above: we show it separately as context. On top of that, the state tenencia (annual ownership tax) is $0 for BEVs/HEVs in most states (Mexico City, Estado de México, Nuevo León, etc.), though it varies by state. Watch out in 2026: the exemption on the refrendo (annual plate renewal) was cut back: BEVs keep it only on the first registration and then pay every year, and HEVs lost it entirely from 2026. So the EV's running-cost advantage narrowed this year. Source: facturama.mx (ISAN) / solarbeat.mx / elimparcial.com / informador.mx / emasociacion.org, as of 1 July 2026. Confirm model by model and state by state before you buy.

Depreciation is the most honest — and decisive — factor: on energy the EV wins clearly — charging at home costs a fraction of what gas does per km — but the 5-year total is not an automatic win for the EV, for two honest reasons. (1) Used EVs depreciate brutally in Mexico: Expansión measured -58.8% over 5 years (they keep ~41% of their value) versus -40% for hybrids (which keep ~60%), while gas and hybrid Toyotas, Nissans and VWs resell well; that's why we set the BEV value curve deliberately low, because that is the reality of the market today. (2) The DAC-tariff trap: CFE electricity is heavily subsidised in the cheap blocks (~$1.11/kWh on the 'básico' block), which would make charging look almost free; but charging an EV at home adds ~250-400 kWh/month, and that alone can push a temperate-zone household (Tarifa 1, Mexico City) past the 250 kWh/month annual-average threshold into the Tarifa de Alto Consumo (DAC — high-consumption tariff), where every subsidy disappears and each kWh costs ~$6.20 (plus a fixed monthly charge). That's why we do not model charging on the 'básico' block: the default rate is the 'excedente' block ($3.94/kWh). Maintenance and insurance use reference values by powertrain (not sourced Mexico-local figures) and are flagged as estimates, so they never tilt the numbers in the EV's favour. Sources: Expansión.mx / KAVAK / Business Insider MX (depreciation); CFE Tarifa 1 + DAC 2026 (electricity), as of 1 July 2026.