New analysis indicates the average annual cost to own and operate a new vehicle is $12,863, up from $11,577 a year ago, according to AAA estimates.

Despite EVs and hybrids joining mainstream vehicle comparisons, fuel savings don’t offset higher ownership costs.

The latest AAA Your Driving Costs (YDC) report indicates the figure reflects continued increases in fuel prices, depreciation, and finance charges.

Estimates indicate vehicles lose a weighted average of $4,422 per year.

Vehicle type and purchase price both have a significant effect on depreciation for EV shoppers; for example, EV medium sedans had about twice the depreciation of gas-powered models, helping push total ownership costs 29.1% higher in that category.

EV and Hybrid Comparison Takeaways

By comparing select electric and hybrid models within the same categories as gas-powered vehicles, shoppers get a more practical view of how ownership costs compare across powertrains, AAA explained.

Gas-powered vehicles: Overall, gas models offered savings compared to EVs and hybrids in cost categories affected by purchase price, like finance charges, taxes and fees, and depreciation. For example, gas-powered medium sedans cost $10,582 per year to own — $3,080 less than comparable EV medium sedans, which had significantly higher depreciation, fees and finance costs.

Electric vehicles: EVs delivered the lowest fuel costs, with charging costs for EVs about 66%–70% lower than fuel costs for traditional gas vehicles across the categories studied. However, the savings were often outweighed by higher depreciation, fees and finance costs; medium-sedan EVs, for example, cost 29.1% more to own annually than gas-powered models.

Hybrids: Hybrids were the most consistently lower-cost alternative to gas in the comparison categories. They combined meaningful fuel savings with smaller ownership-cost tradeoffs, costing less annually than gas-powered models in medium sedans, compact SUVs, medium SUVs and pickup trucks.

Vehicle category makes a major difference, the long-running automobile association said.

Half ton pickups cost $1.10 per mile to operate — 48 cents more than small sedans — adding an average of $7,191 per year. In comparison, purchasing an EV may help offset annual fuel costs, but higher depreciation can increase total ownership costs over time.

Methodology and Overall YDC Analysis

AAA’s YDC analysis estimates the cost of owning and operating a new vehicle for personal transportation over five years and 75,000 miles. Actual driving costs vary based on driving habits, location, operating conditions, and other factors.

Seven vehicle categories and 34 top-selling models were evaluated across fuel, maintenance, repair and tire costs, license, registration and taxes, depreciation and finance charges.

EV and Hybrid Cost Comparisons

For EV and hybrid comparisons, AAA evaluated selected top-selling models in four categories — medium sedans, compact SUVs, medium SUVs and pickup trucks — alongside gas-powered models to show how ownership costs vary by powertrain within the same vehicle categories.

Because the EV and hybrid comparison uses a smaller set of categories, its overall results should not be directly compared with the overall results from the full YDC study.