Want to own a car in Europe? These are the 10 most expensive countries

Owning a car in Europe can cost far more than the price you pay at the dealership.

Fuel, servicing, spare parts and repairs can add thousands of euros to the annual bill—and the difference between countries can be substantial.

An August 2026 study by B2B car company eCarsTrade, which examined more than 30 European countries, ranks the countries where motorists face the highest costs of keeping a vehicle on the road.

The study combines household spending on servicing, spare parts and repairs with the relative cost of fuel and lubricants to produce a Car Cost Score out of 100.

The result? Iceland is the most expensive European country for car ownership, with a Car Cost Score of 78.1 and annual operating spending of about €4,357 per car.

But the ranking throws up some interesting differences. Luxembourg, for instance, has the highest annual maintenance and repair spending among the countries studied, even though its fuel prices are below the EU average.

The research examined 30+ European countries to find where car ownership costs are the highest. The report measured how much households actually spend each year on servicing, spare parts, and repairs, and how expensive fuel and lubricants are compared to the EU average. These two figures were combined into a Car Cost Score out of 100, revealing where owning and running a vehicle is the most expensive.

According to an August 2026 report on car ownership costs across Europe, Iceland is the most expensive country to maintain a vehicle. A new study by the B2B car company eCarsTrade reveals the top 10 European countries where drivers spend the most to

1. Iceland

Car Cost Score: 78.1

Annual operating spend per car: €4,357

Fuel price level (EU27 = 100): 128.4

Maintenance & repair inflation 2025: 5.6%

Average car age: 8.9 years

Iceland is the most expensive place in Europe to keep a car. Drivers here spend roughly €4.3K a year on running their vehicles, covering fuel, spare parts, and repairs. Most of that bill comes down to fuel, as petrol and diesel cost more than 28% above the European average here. But servicing isn’t cheap either: despite driving newer cars that average just 9 years old, Icelanders still end up paying premiums to keep them running.

2. Luxembourg

Luxembourg comes second with the highest servicing and repair bills in Europe. Drivers here spend nearly €6,400 a year keeping their cars on the road, almost €2,000 more than Iceland. The main cost advantage is lower fuel prices, which are around 10% below the EU average. So while filling up is relatively affordable, everything else that comes with owning a car is not.

3. Denmark

Denmark is also among the most expensive countries to own a car. Petrol and diesel here cost 15% above the EU average, which is one of the highest figures in Europe. Altogether, annual running costs here come at around €3.6K. But this figure is likely to rise, as maintenance expenses are going up with inflation, growing 5.5% last year alone.

4. Netherlands

The Netherlands ranks fourth, with fuel prices nearly as steep, costing around 14% above the EU average. Dutch motorists spend more than €3.2K a year on running costs, as apart from expensive fuel, they also drive older cars (averaging 12 years old), which require more repairs. Beyond that, people here also pay premiums for car insurance, with standard policies getting 10% more expensive in the past year.

5. Norway

Norway rounds out the top five, with drivers spending just over €3K a year to keep their vehicles on the road. Fuel here costs around 6% above the EU average, and insurance costs jumped 15% in 2025, the biggest rise among the top five. Part of the reason for growing car ownership costs in Norway is that vehicles here average over 11 years old, which means maintenance needs add up fast, and that affects insurance rates too. “The Iran war pushed fuel prices up sharply across Europe, but the bigger issue is what happens next. When an energy crisis hits, prices spike almost overnight. When it ends, they rarely fall back to where they were. Right now, gas prices in Europe are about 13% above pre-war levels. For anyone thinking about going electric, this is pretty much the moment that makes the decision easy,” said the study.