# Combustion road vehicles: Unit economics

Why fuel is a small slice of a car's real cost

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_road_ice/economics/

Why fuel is a small slice of a car's real cost What this tab covers What it costs to move a unit of energy this way: capital and operating costs, tariffs, utilisation and how it compares with the alternatives.

For a car, fuel is a modest share of total cost (about a sixth in the US); depreciation dominates. For a long-haul truck, fuel and driver costs dominate and battery trucks are projected to undercut diesel in Europe within a few years.

#### Key costs

| Measure | Value | Note |
|---|---|---|
| **Average US new car, total ownership cost** | 77 US cents per mile (2025)^[8](https://newsroom.aaa.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/UPDATE-AAA-Fact-Sheet-Your-Driving-Cost-9.2025-1.pdf) | USD 11,577 a year at 15,000 miles; petrol at USD 3.151 per gallon |
| **Fuel cost, average US new car** | 13 US cents per mile (2025)^[8](https://newsroom.aaa.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/UPDATE-AAA-Fact-Sheet-Your-Driving-Cost-9.2025-1.pdf) | about 17% of total cost (calculated: 13/77) |
| **Small petrol sedan ownership cost** | 55.87 US cents per mile (2025)^[8](https://newsroom.aaa.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/UPDATE-AAA-Fact-Sheet-Your-Driving-Cost-9.2025-1.pdf) | half-ton pickup 98.54 cents |
| **Diesel long-haul truck, Europe (model year 2030)** | 1.13-1.15 EUR per km total cost of ownership^[9](https://theicct.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/ID-55-–-EU-HDV-TCO-paper-fact-sheet-A4-50145-v2.pdf) | about 22% above battery electric (EUR 0.93-0.94/km) on 500-800 km return-to-depot duty (calculated) |
| **Diesel regional truck, Europe (model year 2030)** | 0.98 EUR per km^[9](https://theicct.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/ID-55-–-EU-HDV-TCO-paper-fact-sheet-A4-50145-v2.pdf) | battery electric EUR 0.83/km; ICCT puts parity for this segment in 2023 |
| **Fuel saving available for tractor-trailers** | almost 40% before 2025, at least 50% by 2025-2030% fuel per tonne-mile against 2010 technology^[14](https://theicct.org/publication/advanced-tractor-trailer-efficiency-technology-potential-in-the-2020-2030-timeframe) | one third to one half of the benefit from the engine |

#### Where the money goes

| Item | Share or amount |
|---|---|
| **Depreciation (average US car)** | USD 4,334 a year, about 37% of USD 11,577 (calculated)^[8](https://newsroom.aaa.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/UPDATE-AAA-Fact-Sheet-Your-Driving-Cost-9.2025-1.pdf) |
| **Fuel (average US car)** | about USD 1,950 a year at 13 cents per mile and 15,000 miles, about 17% (calculated)^[8](https://newsroom.aaa.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/UPDATE-AAA-Fact-Sheet-Your-Driving-Cost-9.2025-1.pdf) |
| **Insurance (average US car)** | USD 1,694 a year, about 15% (calculated)^[8](https://newsroom.aaa.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/UPDATE-AAA-Fact-Sheet-Your-Driving-Cost-9.2025-1.pdf) |
| **Operating costs for EU trucks** | more than 60-80% of total cost of ownership on average^[13](https://www.iru.org/sites/default/files/2026-06/Alternative%20vs%20traditional%20truck%20powertrains%20in%20the%20EU%20-%20Total%20cost%20of%20ownership%202024%20-%20Preview.pdf) |

Worked example: AAA's 13 cents per mile at USD 3.151 per gallon implies about 24 miles per gallon (calculated), close to 10 litres per 100 km. A car turning 18-25% of its fuel into wheel energy loses three litres in every four, mostly as heat (calculated). That waste costs a US owner about USD 1,500 a year (calculated: 75-82% of about USD 1,950), small next to depreciation; for a truck covering 100,000 km or more a year, fuel is a main cost lever.

#### Sources

1. [Your Driving Costs 2025 fact sheet](https://newsroom.aaa.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/UPDATE-AAA-Fact-Sheet-Your-Driving-Cost-9.2025-1.pdf) AAA, 2025
2. [A total cost of ownership comparison of truck decarbonization pathways in Europe: fact sheet](https://theicct.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/ID-55-–-EU-HDV-TCO-paper-fact-sheet-A4-50145-v2.pdf) ICCT, 2023
3. [Alternative vs traditional powertrain trucks in the EU: total cost of ownership 2024 (preview)](https://www.iru.org/sites/default/files/2026-06/Alternative%20vs%20traditional%20truck%20powertrains%20in%20the%20EU%20-%20Total%20cost%20of%20ownership%202024%20-%20Preview.pdf) IRU, 2026
4. [Advanced tractor-trailer efficiency technology potential in the 2020-2030 timeframe](https://theicct.org/publication/advanced-tractor-trailer-efficiency-technology-potential-in-the-2020-2030-timeframe) ICCT, 2015

## Other sections

- [Summary](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_road_ice/index.md)
- [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_road_ice/overview/index.md)
- [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_road_ice/correlation/index.md)
- [Science and limits](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_road_ice/science/index.md)
- [Value chain](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_road_ice/valuechain/index.md)
- [Engineering methods](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_road_ice/methods/index.md)
- [Equipment and suppliers](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_road_ice/equipment/index.md)
- [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_road_ice/links/index.md)