About CHF 926 a month. That is the TCS figure for 2026: a new car costing CHF 45,000, driven 15,000 km a year, costs CHF 11,112 a year, or 74 centimes for every kilometre.
01The figures
The Touring Club Schweiz works out every year what its model car costs to run. Its release of 6 January 2026 gives these figures:
| Per year | Per month | |
|---|---|---|
| Fixed costs | Per yearCHF 6,977 | Per monthCHF 581 |
| Variable costs | Per yearCHF 4,135 | Per monthCHF 345 |
| Total | Per yearCHF 11,112 | Per monthCHF 926 |
| Per kilometre | Per year74 centimes | Per month |
02What is in the two parts
Fixed costs are paid whether you drive or not: the loss in value with age, the interest on the money tied up in the car, the vehicle tax, liability insurance, partial cover (Teilkasko), parking or a garage, care and small extras. For a car that stays parked during the week and comes out at weekends and for the summer trip, these are most of the bill.
Variable costs grow with every kilometre: the loss in value from wear, fuel or electricity, tyres and repairs.
Energy is the smaller part. The TCS puts it at 11.5% of the yearly cost. Its model car uses 5 litres per 100 km at CHF 1.71 a litre. At 15,000 km that is about CHF 107 a month on petrol, by our sum. As an electric car using 18 kWh per 100 km at 28 centimes per kWh, it is about CHF 63 a month.
03Working out your own car
- Take your yearly fixed costs: insurance, vehicle tax, parking, and the loss in value. A car bought for CHF 45,000 loses far more each year than one bought used for CHF 12,000.
- Add your kilometres times the variable rate. The TCS figures give about 28 centimes per km (CHF 4,135 for 15,000 km).
- For the same model car at 10,000 km a year, that is CHF 6,977 plus about CHF 2,760: around CHF 9,730 a year, or CHF 811 a month. Driving a third less takes the month from CHF 926 to CHF 811, because the fixed part stays.
- Insurance and the vehicle tax usually come once a year. Set aside a twelfth of them each month, as in our yearly bills planner.
04Sources
- TCS, «Kilometerkosten sinken im Jahr 2026 um zwei Rappen», press release, 6 January 2026: 74 centimes per km, model car CHF 45,000, fixed costs CHF 6,977, variable costs CHF 4,135, petrol CHF 1.71 per litre, 5 l/100 km, 18 kWh/100 km at 28 centimes.
- TCS, press release for 2025: the model car is costed at 15,000 km a year.
- The monthly figures, the petrol and electricity per month, and the 10,000 km example are our own sums from those figures.
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