Unsurprisingly, Australia finds itself at the higher end of the mid-field for vehicle ownership costs per annum
Australia has been named the eleventh-most expensive country in the world to own a car, according to new research by Compare the Market.
Twenty-six countries were included in the study with researchers using 11 different factors – annual depreciation, annual insurance, annual inspection costs, annual tax and rego, annual maintenance, annual fuel spend, annual parking spend, annual toll spend, annual washing spend, fuel cost per litre and licensing costs – in order to determine an index score and list them from most expensive to cheapest.
Australia’s index score was almost 10 times higher than Chile’s – the lowest score and therefore the study’s cheapest country for car ownership – but still only two-thirds of Denmark’s which was deemed to be the most expensive (index score of 8.67/10).
It should be made clear these figures refer to vehicle ownership costs and not a vehicle purchase, for which Australia has previously topped the charts.
How Australia compares to the most and least expensive countries to own a car
| Country | AVG annual depreciation (USD) | AVG annual insurance cost (USD) | AVG annual inspection cost (USD) | AVG annual tax & rego cost (USD) | AVG annual maintenance cost (USD) | AVG annual fuel spend (USD) | AVG annual parking spend (USD) | AVG annual toll spend (USD) | AVG annual washing spend (USD) | AVG fuel cost per litre (USD)* | Licensing costs (USD)^ | Index Score | |
| 1 | Denmark | $1,809 | $651 | $125 | $355 | $794 | $2,892 | $120 | $62 | $82 | $2.07 | $36 | 8.67 |
| 2 | Germany | $1,662 | $717 | $236 | $217 | $2,045 | $1,717 | $136 | $41 | $96 | $1.89 | $43 | 8.13 |
| 3 | Finland | $1,481 | $720 | $75 | $351 | $2,143 | $1,711 | $149 | $21 | $109 | $2.06 | $27 | 7.47 |
| 11 | Australia | $1,250 | $704 | $147 | $235 | $2,048 | $1,616 | $132 | $137 | $87 | $1.09 | $40 | 5.73 |
| 24 | Chile | $1,011 | $268 | $64 | $157 | $1,533 | $1,275 | $211 | $318 | $89 | $1.41 | $1 | 2 |
| 25 | Colombia | $647 | $248 | $58 | $177 | $813 | $596 | $203 | $136 | $74 | $0.50 | $16 | 0.8 |
| 26 | Argentina | $400 | $253 | $21 | $111 | $790 | $656 | $80 | $57 | $33 | $1.00 | $6 | 0.67 |
Three most expensive countries to own a car
1. Denmark
The cycling paradise of Denmark was deemed the world’s most expensive country for car ownership on the basis of it having the highest average depreciation at $US1809 (A$2876), the third-highest tax and rego costs at $US355 (A$564) and the highest average fuel spendage at $US2892 (A$4,598).
“On top of all that, Denmark had the second-highest fuel price per litre on the date the data was gathered,” researchers concluded.
2. Germany
Germany was found to have the third-highest depreciation of $US1662 ($A2643) as well as the second-highest inspection costs of $US236 ($A375), and “a number of other expenses that were higher than most countries” in the index.
“They were in the top 10 for taxes and registration, maintenance and annual fuel costs,” researchers said.
And yet despite the high averages, Germans typically only pay $US41 ($A65) in tolls per annum.
3. Finland
Finland is famous for its love of driving and motorsport and yet it has the fifth-highest insurance cost at $US720 ($A1145), fourth-highest tax and registration fees ($US351/$A558) and the third-highest amount spent on maintenance with an average spend of $US2143 ($A3407) per driver per annum.
Three least expensive countries to own a car
1. Argentina
Argentina was ranked as the cheapest nation, on the basis of having very low expenses across multiple categories, including the smallest amount of depreciation at $US400 ($A636), the cheapest average inspection fees at $US21 ($A33) and the second-cheapest annual fuel spend at $US656 ($A1043).
“On top of this, Argentina had the cheapest cleaning expenses, 3rd cheapest parking and 3rd cheapest licensing fees,” researchers said.
2. Colombia
Of all the countries included in the study, Colombia had the third-cheapest depreciation of $US647 ($A1029) on average, the second-cheapest insurance at $US248 (AU$394) and the smallest average annual fuel bills at $US596 ($A948).
3. Chile
“The third-cheapest country for car owners, Chile clinched its space here by having the cheapest licensing fees at $US1.16 ($A1.84) and the fourth-cheapest average insurance bill at $US268 ($A426),” researchers said.
Only the outlying tax and registration fees stopped the country from nabbing second place off Colombia.
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