Updated 19 July 2026 · Original research by CarsMultiverse · Prices: GlobalPetrolPrices & national household electricity rates, July 2026
Which engine type is cheapest to run? A battery-electric car charged at home is the cheapest option in all 36 countries we track – without a single exception. A full hybrid cuts petrol costs by ~30% everywhere, but still costs 1.2× to 5.9× more per kilometre than an EV. The surprise is the plug-in hybrid: in six countries – Italy, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and Japan – a PHEV actually costs more to run than a regular hybrid, because household electricity there is expensive enough to cancel its advantage.
Key findings (July 2026)
- Electric wins everywhere. Per 100 km, the EV is cheapest in all 36 countries – from $0.54 in Qatar and $1.14 in Turkey to $7.57 in Ireland (still below Ireland’s hybrid at $8.99).
- The biggest EV-vs-hybrid gap is Hong Kong: $2,301 per year. A hybrid there still burns $18.48 per 100 km of the world’s most expensive petrol; an EV runs on $3.15.
- The smallest gap is Japan: just $131 per year ($4.76 hybrid vs $3.89 EV per 100 km) – cheap petrol plus mid-priced electricity make hybrids genuinely competitive there, which helps explain Japan’s hybrid-heavy market.
- A plug-in hybrid is the wrong economic choice in 6 of 36 countries. In Italy ($10.09 vs $9.80), Belgium, the UK, Ireland, Australia and Japan, the PHEV’s expensive home charging makes it dearer per km than a plain hybrid.
- Hybrids shine where petrol is dear and electricity dearer: in Germany a hybrid saves $689/year over petrol – but an EV saves another $578 on top of the hybrid.
- At 15,000 km/year, the petrol→EV saving ranges from $437 (Japan) to $3,489 (Hong Kong) per year – fuel costs alone, before the tax breaks in our car-tax ranking.
Petrol vs hybrid vs plug-in vs electric: the full 36-country table
Costs per 100 km in USD for the same compact car with four different powertrains, at July-2026 national petrol prices and household electricity rates, ranked by the petrol-vs-EV gap. “⚠” marks countries where the plug-in hybrid costs more per km than the regular hybrid. Annual figures assume 15,000 km.
| # | Country | Petrol /100km | Hybrid /100km | PHEV /100km | EV /100km | Petrol /year | EV /year | EV saves vs hybrid /year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hong Kong | $26.40 | $18.48 | $13.02 | $3.15 | $3,960 | $472 | $2,301 |
| 2 | Finland | $15.86 | $11.10 | $8.46 | $2.97 | $2,379 | $446 | $1,219 |
| 3 | Norway | $14.65 | $10.26 | $7.78 | $2.69 | $2,198 | $403 | $1,135 |
| 4 | Netherlands | $16.68 | $11.68 | $9.90 | $4.83 | $2,502 | $724 | $1,027 |
| 5 | Denmark | $17.43 | $12.20 | $11.02 | $6.19 | $2,615 | $928 | $902 |
| 6 | Singapore | $15.11 | $10.57 | $8.73 | $3.98 | $2,266 | $597 | $989 |
| 7 | Portugal | $14.20 | $9.94 | $8.37 | $4.01 | $2,130 | $602 | $889 |
| 8 | France | $14.28 | $10.00 | $8.81 | $4.71 | $2,142 | $706 | $793 |
| 9 | Mexico | $10.54 | $7.38 | $5.53 | $1.82 | $1,580 | $273 | $833 |
| 10 | Switzerland | $14.72 | $10.31 | $9.89 | $6.22 | $2,208 | $933 | $613 |
| 11 | Germany | $15.32 | $10.72 | $10.52 | $6.87 | $2,298 | $1,030 | $578 |
| 12 | New Zealand | $11.76 | $8.23 | $7.04 | $3.52 | $1,764 | $528 | $707 |
| 13 | Poland | $11.62 | $8.13 | $7.24 | $3.96 | $1,742 | $594 | $625 |
| 14 | Turkey | $8.70 | $6.09 | $4.35 | $1.14 | $1,305 | $171 | $742 |
| 15 | Spain | $11.54 | $8.08 | $7.38 | $4.25 | $1,732 | $638 | $575 |
| 16 | South Korea | $9.35 | $6.55 | $5.22 | $2.14 | $1,403 | $321 | $661 |
| 17 | Austria | $13.08 | $9.15 | $9.01 | $5.92 | $1,962 | $887 | $486 |
| 18 | Italy | $13.99 | $9.80 | $10.09 ⚠ | $7.09 | $2,099 | $1,063 | $406 |
| 19 | South Africa | $10.19 | $7.13 | $6.29 | $3.37 | $1,529 | $505 | $565 |
| 20 | Canada | $8.90 | $6.23 | $4.99 | $2.09 | $1,335 | $314 | $621 |
| 21 | Thailand | $8.74 | $6.12 | $4.97 | $2.16 | $1,311 | $324 | $594 |
| 22 | Belgium | $13.43 | $9.40 | $9.72 ⚠ | $6.87 | $2,014 | $1,030 | $380 |
| 23 | United Kingdom | $13.10 | $9.17 | $9.55 ⚠ | $6.82 | $1,966 | $1,023 | $353 |
| 24 | India | $7.38 | $5.16 | $3.89 | $1.31 | $1,107 | $196 | $578 |
| 25 | Sweden | $10.06 | $7.04 | $6.62 | $4.01 | $1,509 | $602 | $455 |
| 26 | Brazil | $8.37 | $5.86 | $5.15 | $2.74 | $1,256 | $411 | $469 |
| 27 | Ireland | $12.84 | $8.99 | $9.88 ⚠ | $7.57 | $1,927 | $1,135 | $214 |
| 28 | Indonesia | $6.12 | $4.29 | $3.50 | $1.55 | $918 | $232 | $411 |
| 29 | Malaysia | $5.37 | $3.76 | $2.76 | $0.83 | $805 | $125 | $439 |
| 30 | United Arab Emirates | $5.82 | $4.08 | $3.26 | $1.36 | $874 | $204 | $408 |
| 31 | Philippines | $7.87 | $5.51 | $5.39 | $3.50 | $1,181 | $525 | $301 |
| 32 | United States | $7.25 | $5.07 | $4.91 | $3.13 | $1,087 | $469 | $292 |
| 33 | Australia | $7.80 | $5.46 | $5.86 ⚠ | $4.35 | $1,170 | $653 | $166 |
| 34 | Qatar | $3.74 | $2.62 | $1.90 | $0.54 | $562 | $82 | $312 |
| 35 | Saudi Arabia | $4.03 | $2.82 | $2.23 | $0.88 | $605 | $133 | $291 |
| 36 | Japan | $6.81 | $4.76 | $5.17 ⚠ | $3.89 | $1,021 | $584 | $131 |
⬇ Download the full dataset (CSV, free to reuse with attribution) – includes electricity and petrol prices and annual costs for all four powertrains in all 36 countries.
Why is a plug-in hybrid sometimes more expensive than a regular hybrid?
Because a PHEV only pays off when its electric kilometres are meaningfully cheaper than its petrol kilometres. Real-world studies show plug-in hybrids cover roughly half their distance on electricity (far less than official WLTP figures assume), and a PHEV consumes more electricity per km than a pure EV because it carries two drivetrains. Where household electricity is very expensive – Ireland ($0.445/kWh), Italy ($0.417), the UK ($0.401), Belgium ($0.404) – those electric kilometres cost almost as much as petrol ones, while the regular hybrid simply burns 30% less fuel with no charging bill at all. In cheap-electricity countries the effect reverses: in Turkey a PHEV ($4.35/100km) comfortably beats the hybrid ($6.09).
Does a hybrid ever beat an electric car on running costs?
No – not in any of the 36 countries we track, as of July 2026. The closest calls are Japan (hybrid $4.76 vs EV $3.89 per 100 km, a gap of just $131/year) and Ireland ($8.99 vs $7.57, $214/year), both places where electricity is dear relative to petrol. The widest gaps are Hong Kong ($2,301/year), Turkey ($742/year at just $171/year total EV cost) and Finland. Note this compares running costs only – purchase prices, taxes and incentives differ by country; see our car-tax ranking and incentive ranking for those.
Methodology
We modelled the same compact car with four powertrains: petrol at 6.5 L/100km; full hybrid at 4.55 L/100km (the typical ~30% real-world hybrid saving); plug-in hybrid covering 50% of distance on electricity at 20 kWh/100km and 50% on petrol at 5.5 L/100km (real-world utility factor – official WLTP figures assume far more electric driving than owners achieve, per ICCT/European Commission fleet data); and battery-electric at 17 kWh/100km including charging losses. Fuel prices: Octane-95 petrol per GlobalPetrolPrices (13 July 2026); electricity: latest published household rates per country (GlobalPetrolPrices), assuming home charging. Annual costs assume 15,000 km/year. All figures USD. Public fast-charging costs more – see our Home EV Charging Price Index. Running costs exclude purchase price, depreciation, insurance, maintenance and road taxes (see car tax by country).
FAQ
What is the cheapest type of car to run in 2026?
A battery-electric car charged at home. Across all 36 countries CarsMultiverse tracks, the EV has the lowest running cost per kilometre – from $0.54 per 100 km in Qatar to $7.57 in Ireland – beating petrol, hybrid and plug-in hybrid everywhere, as of July 2026.
Is a hybrid worth it compared to an electric car?
On running costs alone, a hybrid is always second-best or worse: it still costs 1.2× (Japan) to 5.9× (Hong Kong) more per km than an EV. Hybrids make the most sense where the EV gap is small and charging at home is impractical – Japan is the standout case, with only $131/year between a hybrid and an EV.
Is a plug-in hybrid cheaper to run than a normal hybrid?
Usually, but not always. In 30 of 36 countries the PHEV is cheaper. In Italy, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and Japan, expensive household electricity makes the plug-in hybrid’s electric kilometres cost nearly as much as petrol ones, so a regular hybrid is cheaper per km – assuming a realistic 50% of driving on electric power.
How much does an electric car save per year compared to petrol?
At 15,000 km/year and July-2026 prices: from about $437/year in Japan and $472/year in Saudi Arabia up to $1,268/year in Germany, $1,933/year in Finland and $3,489/year in Hong Kong. The global average across our 36 countries is roughly $1,100/year on energy alone.
Explore more CarsMultiverse research
- Car Tax by Country 2026: Where the State Adds the Most to a New Car
- Where an Electric Car Saves You the Most: 36-Country Ranking (2026)
- Home EV Charging Price Index – Q3 2026
- All original research →
Disclaimer & reuse: Figures are estimates compiled from the cited official and public sources for general information only – they are not tax, financial or legal advice; verify current rates with the official national sources before making decisions. Vehicle names and trademarks belong to their respective owners and are used for identification only. Our tables and CSV datasets are free to reuse with attribution to CarsMultiverse (CC BY 4.0). See our Terms of Service.
