Running costs: EVs vs petrol/diesel cars

We recently wrote an overview of the Australian EV market that highlighted the low sticker price of EVS and the increase in charging points around the country, but one thing we didn’t talk much about was the ongoing costs.

In this article we’ll be comparing:

• • Charging vs bowser prices

• • Repair/replacement fees

• • Insurance costs

Cost of charging EVs versus filling up at a servo

One of the biggest price differences comes in how we power the cars. The Electric Vehicle Council has long been championing EVs for their lower running costs, saying that electric vehicles cost 20% as much in charging versus standard an average ICE vehicle (4c/km vs 20c/km).

And that figure came from before the conflict in the Middle East. The current news around the Strait of Hormuz has seen servo prices skyrocket while EV users are largely unaffected.

Although prices have now dropped from their peak at the end of March, pump prices are still higher than before the conflict. This puts more weight into the EV being cheaper category. On 20 April 2026, eLitre shows that $1 of fuel would take the average petrol/diesel vehicle 5.2km, while it would take the average EV 44.7km.

(Figures taken from Melbourne 7-11s and Amber Electricity.)

Cost per kilometre: popular ICE vehicles vs EVs

The EV council’s figures of 4c/km vs 20c/km aren’t too far off 2026 numbers. If anything, they’ve undersold how economical electric vehicles can be.

Taking data from eLitre again, the top-selling EVs are around the 2c/km mark (ranging from 1.8c to 2.6c) while petrol and diesel vehicles range from 13.4c to 23.9c per km.

(Figures taken from Melbourne 7-11s and Amber Electricity.)

Of course, this isn’t like-for-like as many of the top selling ICE vehicles are utes and SUVs, while most of the electric vehicles are city cars which are traditionally cheaper to run anyway.

Looking at the cost of charging an EV ute then, data for the BYD Shark shows that it would be between 8c/km up to 12c/km when charging at home – roughly 9c cheaper than the cheapest ICE ute on the list.

Comparing a Shark and a HiLux over a full year shows the possible savings:

Taking a Shark at it’s lowest charging point could save you $3375 a year if you drive 25,000km (or $2375 at the upper end of the charging scale).

Even if you drive less, say 10,000km, there’s still a possible saving of $950-$1350 on the table.

Insurance costs

Go to the comments section of any article about EV costs and you’ll see it’s full of people saying what you save on fuel you’ll lose in insurance, but how true is this?

While it’s true that you will pay more for insurance for an electric vehicle, it might not be as much as you like.

It’s hard to get accurate figures without making specific inquiries, but in 2024 Youi released figures for their average policies:

This shows that insurance for EVs is actually cheaper on cheaper cars, goes up massively for mid-range cars and then closes the gap slightly at the top of the market.

So while you would pay more to insure a Shark than a HiLux, you’d still end up comfortably on top with your fuel savings.

Strangely, the same data showed that hybrid vehicles were the cheapest to insure in all price brackets.

Maintenance costs

The reason that EVs cost more to insure comes down to one main component: the car’s battery.

In 2025, the cost to replace one ranged from $3,000 to $22,000 and this obviously weighs heavily on an insurer’s mind. This cost is 30% lower than in 2022 and it’s predicted that they’ll drop another 30% by 2030.

However, the idea that EV owners have to replace their batteries regularly is something of a myth. While there are times that they won’t work as advertised, in the vast majority of cases the battery will last beyond the lifespan of the car itself.

Repair costs

Conclusion

In summary, EVs continue to have cheaper running costs than petrol/diesel vehicles and those savings should more than cover the extra insurance fees.