By Guy Page

The average cost of owning a new car exceeds $10,000 this year, the first time in U.S. history that the cost of financing, operating, registering and inspecting a new car has hit the five-figure mark.

According to a statement published by the Automobile Club of American (AAA), the average cost of new car operation is now $10,728. That’s an 11% increase, up from $9,666 last year. 

Since 1950, AAA has published its annual Your Driving Costs study that looks at the most popular models on the market and breaks down the cost of owning a new car including depreciation, finance, fuel, insurance, license/registration/ taxes and maintenance/repair/tires. 

AAA uses five top-selling models in each of nine vehiclecategories to calculate ownership costs across a number of areas. These are then combined and averaged to determine  the overall cost to own a new car in 2022.

The steep increase in gas prices is a major contributing factor. AAA found that the average driver of a gas-powered car would spend about $2000/year more on fuel than on an electric car. 

The purchase cost of vehicles – both electric and gas/diesel powered – also contributed. Press reports say the average cost of an EV is now $66,000, and a gas/diesel passenger vehicle is $48,000.