The most expensive countries for car owners’ index

The country ranked as the most expensive for car ownership this year is Denmark – no wonder so many of them ride bicycles to get around!¹ The Danes who drive have an average annual cost of AUD$12,476 to run a car, and an average fuel cost of $3.59 per litre, both of which were the most expensive of all 26 countries analysed.

In the past year, every cost that made up the analysis increased to some degree, with the average amount spent on fuel increasing by $356 to a total of $5,218 per year.

Ranked second-most expensive on the index was the Netherlands. The average annual running cost was AUD$8,474, which wasn’t the most expensive running cost overall, but still fairly high in comparison to other countries. Our index also ranked countries based on the cost of fuel and licensing, and the Netherlands had the second-most expensive fuel price and the most expensive cost of licensing, contributing to its rank as the second-most expensive nation in the index.

The biggest increases in costs since 2024 were for annual average fuel spending, which rose $253, followed by depreciation with a $184 increase, and a $137 increase to car insurance costs.

Taking third in the unenviable podium for most expensive countries for car ownership is Norway – the second Scandinavian country after Denmark. Norway had the third-highest annual running cost of AUD$9,856, the fourth-highest average fuel price at $3.16 per litre, and one of the highest licensing cost at $246.

As with the Netherlands and Denmark, fuel was the cost that had the biggest increase since 2024, with the average amount Norwegians spent on fuel in 2025 rising $133.

The cheapest country for owning and running a car is Argentina, and when you take a look at the stats, it’s easy to see why. Argentina had the lowest annual average spend of AUD$1,545, thanks to having the lowest costs in seven different metrics, and very low expenses in the other categories. For example, Argentina had the lowest average car insurance cost at $238 a year, the cheapest annual spend on fuel at just $526 a year, plus the cheapest average parking spend per year at $73.

However, even an affordable country with low car ownership costs can’t escape the rising cost of living, with every single metric increasing to some extent compared to the year before.

The second cheapest nation for motorist is Russia, where Russians spend an average of AUD$4,636 per year overall. Like Argentina, Russia had very low expenses in most categories, including the second-cheapest average spend on tolls at $48 a year per motorist. Russian licensing fees were also very low, and the nation had the second-cheapest price for fuel at an average $1.20 per litre, largely thanks to the nation’s deep oil reserves.²

Despite such a low price at the bowser, the price has increased over the past year, which has led to a notable rise of $273 in annual fuel spending.

Several South American countries vied for the third-lowest ranking in the index, but Colombia outperformed Chile and Guatemala, with an average annual spend on motoring costs of AUD$5,307. Colombia had the fourth-cheapest fuel price at $1.58 per litre, and the second-cheapest licensing cost of $31, which helped the country rank third-cheapest – despite having the highest average annual spend on parking this year at $437.

Prices increased in almost all areas, with average yearly fuel spending rising $149 and average maintenance costs increasing by $117, although other costs such as insurance, inspection fees and taxes had some of the lowest increases among the 26 nations.