For the first time, the RACQ has crowned an electric car the cheapest vehicle to own and operate, with the BYD Atto 1 topping its 2026 Vehicle Operating Costs Report. The club put the Atto 1's five-year cost at about $45,000, or $751 a month, including just $54 in charging.
How the numbers stack up
RACQ assessed 85 new vehicles on purchase price, a five-year loan, registration, insurance, servicing and fuel or electricity, over 15,000 km a year. Battery and plug-in hybrid models took the honours across several classes. The cheapest petrol car to run was the Chery Tiggo 4 at about $50,000 over five years. In the medium SUV class the BYD Sealion 5 plug-in hybrid led on $61,500, while the 4x4 ute category went to the diesel LDV T60 Max at $93,500, just ahead of the plug-in BYD Shark 6 on $94,300.
Cartell Assessment
This is a different crown to the Atto 1's $19,990 drive-away sticker. Owning and running a car is about far more than the price tag, and here cheap electricity (that $54 charging figure is striking) plus low servicing do the heavy lifting. Note that RACQ models Queensland registration and its own insurance, so your total will shift with your state and insurer.
AU Outlook
With plug-in and electric cars near 34.5 per cent of new sales, the running-cost maths is only going to tilt further their way. Petrol buyers chasing value now have a clear EV benchmark to beat.
