Ownership cost · Australia
Compare ute resale and ownership costs over the years you choose
Select any two utes covered by the site, then choose an ownership period and use scenario. The model estimates resale, depreciation, fuel or charging, insurance, servicing, repairs and registration.
Model v1.416 vehicle presets + customLast checked: 29 June 2026
Choose a starting scenario
Choose two model presets, an ownership period and a use scenario. Presets are research starting points—not dealer quotes or guaranteed future resale values—and every field remains editable.
Vehicle library: both selectors contain every ute currently covered by the site. Choose any two—even two diesel vehicles or two PHEVs. Incoming/watchlist vehicles use provisional placeholder pricing and should only be used for scenario planning until Australian retail details are final.
JAC T9 OasisVehicle A
BYD Shark 6 PremiumVehicle B
Vehicle A
$0
Vehicle B
$0
Total-cost advantage
$0
Lower depreciation
$0
Break-even resale
—
| Ownership-period component | Vehicle A | Vehicle B |
|---|---|---|
| Estimated resale value | ||
| Depreciation | ||
| Running and fixed costs (excluding depreciation) | ||
| Fuel and electricity | ||
| Insurance | ||
| Servicing, tyres and repair contingency | ||
| Registration | ||
| Charger |
Uncertainty range
Optimistic, base and conservative cases
The range changes final retained value by ±8 percentage points and non-depreciation costs by ±10%. It is a stress test, not a confidence interval.
| Vehicle | Optimistic | Base | Conservative | Range verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Sensitivity analysis
Which assumptions move the answer most?
Drive 10,000km more each year
Maintenance changes by 20%
PHEV charging break-even
Calculator methodology
How the calculator works
The calculator is a transparent scenario model. It does not predict a guaranteed trade-in price and it does not claim that a preset is the exact cost of every vehicle. It takes the assumptions shown on screen, applies the formulas below, and adds the results without hidden weighting.
1. Resale value and depreciation
We separate the usually steeper first year from later years. The default rates are editorial stress-test assumptions because newer utes—especially PHEVs—do not yet have enough Australian five-year resale history.
resale = price × (1 − first-year rate) × (1 − later-year rate)^(years − 1)
depreciation = drive-away price − estimated resale
2. Diesel or petrol energy
Fuel cost uses annual distance, real-world fuel consumption and the user’s fuel price. Use a loaded or towing consumption figure when that better represents the vehicle’s job.
fuel cost = years × km/year ÷ 100 × L/100km × $/L
3. PHEV energy
PHEV distance is split into electric and engine-driven kilometres. This avoids treating a brochure combined-fuel claim as if it applies to every charging pattern.
electricity = total km × EV share ÷ 100 × kWh/100km × $/kWh
petrol = total km × (1 − EV share) ÷ 100 × L/100km × $/L
4. Maintenance and fixed costs
Scheduled servicing/tyres and a separate repair contingency are multiplied by the chosen years. Insurance and registration are handled the same way. The charger is a one-off PHEV cost.
maintenance = years × (service/tyres + repair contingency)
5. Total ownership cost
The estimated resale value is not added as cash income; it is already reflected through depreciation. This prevents double counting.
total = depreciation + energy + insurance + maintenance + registration + charger
6. Cost per kilometre
This divides the ownership estimate by total distance. It helps compare scenarios with different annual kilometres but is not the ATO cents-per-kilometre deduction rate.
cost/km = total ownership cost ÷ (years × annual km)
7. Break-even resale
This shows the minimum retained-value percentage the currently lower-cost vehicle needs to equal the other vehicle’s result. It measures how much resale uncertainty its purchase and running costs can absorb.
required resale = vehicle price + running costs − competitor total cost
break-even rate = required resale ÷ vehicle price
Confidence rule: purchase price and published consumption can be checked today. Future resale, insurance, repairs and energy prices cannot. Treat those as low-confidence assumptions, test a range, and compare whether the decision survives an optimistic and a conservative case.
What the selected vehicle assumptions mean
| Current input | Vehicle A | Vehicle B | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Checkable now; offers and states vary | ||
| Energy assumptions | Use-case sensitive | ||
| Depreciation model | Editorial stress-test; not historical fact | ||
| Annual maintenance | Illustrative until replaced by owner quotes | ||
| Estimated resale after selected period | Scenario output, not a guaranteed trade-in value |
This table mirrors the two selected vehicles and updates whenever a model, year or input changes.
The model library uses representative price and consumption inputs, plus editable editorial assumptions for depreciation, insurance and maintenance. Established brands receive less aggressive default depreciation than newer or incoming models, but this is a scenario choice—not a claim about guaranteed resale performance.
Source and freshness record
High government, ANCAP or directly verifiable official data · Medium published model data that varies by grade, state or use · Low editorial forecast, provisional model or user-entered assumption.
Vehicle A
Vehicle B
How to read this estimate
Private buyer
Lower annual distance makes the purchase-price and resale gap more important. A PHEV needs regular charging—not merely ownership of a charging cable—to generate energy savings.
Company or fleet
High utilisation can magnify energy savings, but downtime, charging access, finance structure and tax treatment may outweigh a simple fuel calculation.
Tradie
Towing, payload, tools and regional driving usually reduce the share of kilometres completed electrically. Enter loaded real-world consumption rather than brochure claims.
Depreciation usually wins
A small change in retained value can outweigh several years of fuel savings. Every preset depreciation rate is an editable scenario, not an observed future fact.
What is included—and what is not
Included: drive-away price through depreciation, energy, insurance, servicing/tyres, a user-set repair contingency, registration and optional home charging installation. Not included: finance interest, stamp-duty differences outside the drive-away input, accessories, major unexpected failures beyond the contingency, tolls, parking, tax deductions, FBT, GST credits or business downtime.
This is general information, not financial or tax advice. The ATO’s cents-per-kilometre method is a deduction method rather than a measure of your actual ownership cost. Registration and insurance vary substantially by state, vehicle, driver and use.
Model governance
Downloads, version history, corrections and backtesting
Download the presets
Inspect or reuse the model inputs outside this page.
Model version
v1.4 · 29 June 2026
Added model-wide presets, dynamic methodology, uncertainty ranges, sensitivity analysis and provenance records.
Correction record
29 June 2026: replaced fixed example content with methodology, assumptions and source records tied to the current vehicle selections. Corrections that change a result will be recorded here.
Backtesting status
Not yet statistically established. Several current and incoming utes do not have five years of comparable Australian resale history. Forecast-versus-market error will be published once a consistent observation series exists.
Public references
- Australian Government: transport, fuel labels and Green Vehicle Guide
- Australian Government: EV running-cost context
- Australian Government: monthly petroleum and fuel statistics
- Australian Government Green Vehicle Guide: vehicle fuel and emissions data
- ATO: cents-per-kilometre deduction rate
- Service NSW: registration calculator example
- Auto Insight Lab: data sources, update rhythm and limitations