The Cost of Operating a New Auto — Down in 2025

For the last 70 years, AAA has been releasing an annual Your Driving Costs analysis. It tracks what it costs each year to drive a new vehicle. It’s still fairly expensive to drive a new automobile, the good news, however, it is light years lower in 2025 than it was in 2024.

AAA says the average yearly operating costs for a new vehicle is $11,577. The drop between 2024 and 2025 is $719. AAA says that’s almost a month of operating costs.

Not bad.

Other prices are dropping, too. Finance charges for a new vehicle also fell between 2024 and 2025 by an average of 15%. That drops loan costs from $1,332 last year to $1,131 this year.

In most states the cost of fuel is down about 12.8% over last year. It does — however — cost a bit more in 2025 to run your electric vehicle than it did in 2024. The cost per kWh is now 16.7 cents. That’s down from the 15.9 cents last year.

Depreciation is also improved. The average for 2025 is $4,334. That’s down $300 on average from 2024. Average insurance costs also decreased in 2025 but not much. The average is $1,694 and it’s only down about $21.

Maintenance went up. Everything — including tires — rose about one cent per mile to 11.04 cents.

Licensing fees and registration stayed flat between 2024 and 2025. Government taxes fell very slightly to $813 per year. That’s only $2 less than 2024.

AAA director of automotive research, Greg Brannon said buying the right vehicle will also save you money as we move into 2026. Don’t purchase a big pickup when you only need a small car. The pickup will cost you about $6,402 extra per year over a vehicle that’s smaller.

A small sedan will cost you about 56 cents per mile. A subcompact SUV takes that up a dime to 66 cents and a medium SUV will run about 84 cents.

Source link: CarBuzz — https://bit.ly/3XnZj6E