About evcost

Our mission

Buying an electric vehicle is one of the biggest financial decisions an Australian driver can make — and the honest answer to “will it save me money?” depends on where you live, how far you drive and how you charge. evcost exists to answer that question with numbers, not hype. Our calculator compares the full 5-year cost of owning a popular EV against its closest petrol equivalent, using Australian prices in AUD.

How we calculate costs

Every comparison adds up five cost categories over a 5-year ownership period:

• Energy / fuel— EV efficiency (kWh/100km) multiplied by your state electricity rate and annual kilometres, or the petrol equivalent’s L/100km multiplied by current fuel prices.
• Registration— state-based rego, including EV discounts where they apply (for example, the ACT’s 25% discount).
• Insurance — brand and model-based annual averages for both the EV and its petrol benchmark.
• Servicing — EVs have far fewer moving parts than petrol cars, which is reflected in lower scheduled service costs.
• Depreciation — estimated 5-year resale-value loss based on brand segment and drivetrain.

Data sources

• Manufacturer driveaway pricing for the Australian market
• State and territory electricity tariffs (peak, off-peak and solar feed-in rates)
• Average Australian petrol prices by fuel grade
• State transport authority registration schedules
• Published insurance premium averages by brand and segment
• Industry resale-value data for depreciation assumptions

Inputs are reviewed and refreshed as tariffs, fuel prices and model ranges change.