Owning and operating a new vehicle costs an average of $12,863 a year, or $1,071.92 a month, under AAA's 2026 Your Driving Costs analysis. The estimate includes fuel, maintenance, repairs, tires, taxes, fees, depreciation and finance charges over five years and 75,000 miles.
AAA evaluated 34 top-selling models across seven vehicle categories and, for the first time in its standard category comparisons, incorporated selected electric and hybrid models alongside gasoline-powered vehicles. The organization cautioned that methodology changes mean the 2026 estimate should not be directly compared with its 2025 estimate of $11,577.
Depreciation remains the largest cost
Depreciation was the biggest ownership expense, averaging $4,422 per vehicle each year. AAA calculated depreciation from the difference between the purchase price and expected resale value, with vehicle type and purchase price affecting the result.
The sales-weighted average manufacturer's suggested retail price for the new vehicles in the study was $39,376. AAA noted that incentives, rebates and demand can change the actual purchase price, which the analysis then uses to calculate financing and depreciation costs.
Fuel prices also increased during the study period. Regular gasoline averaged $4.152 a gallon, up 31.8% from 2025, while electricity for home charging averaged 18 cents per kilowatt-hour, an increase of 7.8%.
Vehicle size made a substantial difference. Half-ton pickup trucks cost an estimated $1.10 per mile to operate, 48 cents more than small sedans and about $7,191 more per year.
Powertrains carry different tradeoffs
Gasoline-powered vehicles generally cost less than electric and hybrid models in categories tied to purchase price, including finance charges, taxes, fees and depreciation. A gasoline-powered medium sedan cost an estimated $10,582 a year, $3,080 less than a comparable electric sedan.
Electric vehicles had the lowest energy costs, with charging estimated at 66% to 70% less than gasoline across the categories studied. Those savings were often offset by higher depreciation, fees and financing costs; AAA estimated that electric medium sedans cost 29.1% more per year than comparable gasoline models, largely because their depreciation was about twice as high.
Hybrids were the most consistently lower-cost alternative to gasoline models in AAA's selected comparisons. They cost less annually in the medium-sedan, compact-SUV, medium-SUV and pickup categories by combining fuel savings with smaller tradeoffs in other ownership expenses.
AAA's powertrain comparison covered selected top-selling models in four categories: medium sedans, compact SUVs, medium SUVs and pickup trucks. Because that analysis used fewer categories than the full study, AAA said its overall figures should not be compared directly with the broader Your Driving Costs results.
Actual expenses will vary with location, driving habits, operating conditions, financing and the vehicle purchased. AAA advises shoppers to build both operating and ownership costs into a monthly budget, negotiate the vehicle price, financing rate and trade-in separately, and seek financing preapproval before discussing a loan with a dealer.
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