If you paid a premium to get behind the wheel of a hybrid or electric car in the hopes that burning less fuel would save you more money right away, AAA has some bad news for you.
The automobile association’s latest evaluation of driving costs finds that small sedans and even small sport utility vehicles (SUVs) cost less to own and operate on an annual basis than either hybrids or electric cars.
“Determining the cost of a new vehicle car is more than calculating a monthly payment,” cautioned John Nielsen, AAA’s managing director of Automotive Engineering and Repair. “While sales price is certainly a factor, depreciation, maintenance, repair and fuel costs should be equally important considerations for anyone in the market for a new vehicle.”
When you factor in such considerations, small sedans average out to an annual cost of $6,354, compared to $7,606 for small SUVs, $7,687 for hybrids and $8,439 for electric vehicles. The good news is that all the small, hybrid or electric cars are at least cheaper to operate than the overall U.S. average.
Pickup trucks rank as the most expensive vehicles to drive, at an annual cost of $10,054. Minivans, large sedans and medium SUVs will all cost you between $9,000 an $10,000 per year.
This was the first year that AAA included an electric vehicle category in its evaluation. It finds that while EVs obviously save on gas, depreciation for electric models is extremely high at the moment, losing almost $6,000 in value each year on average.
This doesn’t mean that electric vehicles are a bad buy, however.
“Although electric vehicles can have higher up-front costs, lower fuel and maintenance costs make them a surprisingly affordable choice in the long run,” said Nielsen. “For even lower costs, car shoppers can avoid high depreciation costs by selecting a used electric vehicle.”
The opinions expressed here by Inc.com columnists are their own, not those of Inc.com.