The lifetime cost of driving a car

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Journal article record
Title	The lifetime cost of driving a car
Journal	Ecological Economics‎ vol. 194
Abstract	The car is one of the most expensive household consumer goods, yet there is a limited understanding of its private (internal) and social (external) cost per vehicle-km, year, or lifetime of driving. This paper provides an overview of 23 private and ten social cost items, and assesses these for three popular car models in Germany for the year 2020. Results confirm that motorists underestimate the full private costs of car ownership, while policy makers and planners underestimate social costs. For the typical German travel distance of 15,000 car kilometers per year, the total lifetime cost of car ownership (50 years) ranges between €599,082 for an Opel Corsa to €956,798 for a Mercedes GLC. The share of this cost born by society is 41% (€4674 per year) for the Opel Corsa, and 29% (€5273 per year) for the Mercedes GLC. Findings suggest that for low-income groups, private car ownership can represent a cost equal to housing, consuming a large share of disposable income. This creates complexities in perceptions of transport costs, the economic viability of alternative transport modes, or the justification of taxes.
Authors	Stefan Gossling‎ Jessica Keys‎ Todd Litman‎
Date	April 2022‎
Keywords and locations
Keywords	Car dependency‎
Locations	Germany‎
How to find and cite this journal article
Publication	10.1016/j.ecolecon.2021.107335
Access	This journal article is open access and can be read for free as of 17 February 2026.
Citation	Gössling, S., Kees, J., & Litman, T. (2022). The lifetime cost of driving a car. Ecological Economics, 194, 107335.

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