Car Running Cost Index 2026: what a car really costs to fuel in 11 countries
We hold 39,264 car-years of official certified consumption data across 11 markets. This is what that data says a car actually costs to fuel, per 100 km and per year, at each country's current prices — computed by us, from published homologation figures, not copied from anyone.
The short version
- Fuelling a typical car for 100 km ranges from €9.86 in Sweden to €15.75 in the Netherlands, once every market is converted to euros. In local money that is SEK 110 and €15.75 respectively.
- Across every market in the study a typical electric car costs less per 100 km than a petrol one on home charging — and the gap is widest where petrol is most expensive.
- The spread is driven more by fuel prices than by the cars. Identical models drift up and down the table depending on where they are being fuelled.
- Certified consumption is a test-cycle number and real-world consumption is typically higher — treat this as a ranking, not a promise.
Cost to drive 100 km, by market
Medians across every car we hold certified data for in each market, priced with that market's current average pump prices. Ranked by the euro value so the countries are comparable — the local-currency column is what a driver in that country actually pays. "EV saving" is the gap between a typical petrol car and a typical electric car over a year.
| Market | Cost / 100 km (EUR) | Cost / 100 km (local) | EV / 100 km (EUR) | EV saving / year | Cars |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sweden | €9.86 | SEK 110 | €4.60 | SEK 8,781 | 1,299 |
| United States | €9.91 | US$11.55 | €3.38 | US$1,470 | 10,663 |
| Spain | €11.61 | €11.61 | €4.54 | €1,061 | 1,715 |
| Canada | €11.89 | CA$19.08 | — | — | 8,528 |
| Belgium | €12.63 | €12.63 | €5.95 | €1,002 | 1,299 |
| Ireland | €12.70 | €12.70 | €6.46 | €935 | 4,257 |
| United Kingdom | €13.17 | £11.32 | €5.21 | £1,322 | 4,257 |
| France | €13.68 | €13.68 | €4.35 | €1,399 | 2,116 |
| Germany | €14.76 | €14.76 | €6.58 | €1,227 | 2,116 |
| Finland | €14.76 | €14.76 | €3.83 | €1,640 | 1,299 |
| Netherlands | €15.75 | €15.75 | €4.35 | €1,709 | 1,715 |
EUR figures use ECB euro reference rates of 2026-09-09 (GBP 0.85898, USD 1.1652, CAD 1.6043, SEK 11.1495 per EUR). Fuel prices move weekly, so treat the ranking as a snapshot, not a constant.
Read the detail for each market
- Ireland — €12.70 (€12.70) per 100 km
- United Kingdom — €13.17 (£11.32) per 100 km
- United States — €9.91 (US$11.55) per 100 km
- Canada — €11.89 (CA$19.08) per 100 km
- Germany — €14.76 (€14.76) per 100 km
- France — €13.68 (€13.68) per 100 km
- Spain — €11.61 (€11.61) per 100 km
- Netherlands — €15.75 (€15.75) per 100 km
- Finland — €14.76 (€14.76) per 100 km
- Sweden — €9.86 (SEK 110) per 100 km
- Belgium — €12.63 (€12.63) per 100 km
Methodology and sources
Consumption figures are the official certified values from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (fueleconomy.gov), Natural Resources Canada, and the UK Vehicle Certification Agency — the same homologation data manufacturers are required to publish. Fuel and electricity prices are the current national averages compiled in our market configuration and sourced on each market's page.
Costs are fuel or electricity only. They deliberately exclude insurance, servicing, tyres, repairs, depreciation, road tax and the periodic roadworthiness test, because all of those depend on the driver and the car. Add them with the ownership cost calculator.
Annual figures assume driving 15,000 km a year. Certified consumption is measured on a test cycle; real-world consumption is typically higher, and NEDC-cycle figures (older UK data) are optimistic compared with WLTP. Where several trims share a model-year we use the median, so a car with one frugal and one thirsty trim is represented by the midpoint.
This is original analysis, not a re-publication. The dataset, the computation and the exclusions are all stated above so the numbers can be checked and cited.