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Vehicle running cost per km

Fuel, tyres, maintenance and fixed costs turned into a cost per kilometre for a bakkie, truck or fleet.

Use and fuel
km/year

Take it from the odometer or your logbook over a full year, not a guess from one busy month.

L/100 km

Loaded farm work usually uses more than the brochure figure. Measure it below if you are unsure.

Measure your fuel consumption

Fill the tank to the brim and zero the trip meter. Drive as usual, then fill to the brim again. The litres of the second fill and the kilometres on the trip meter give your real consumption.

L
km

Several tanks together give a steadier figure than one.

Enter litres filled and kilometres driven to see L/100 km.

R/L

What you actually pay per litre, delivered to the farm or at the pump, after any rebate you claim back.

Tyres and maintenance
R
km

Gravel roads and heavy loads wear tyres far faster than tar. Use what your last set actually lasted.

R/year

Services, parts, labour and breakdowns. Average two or three years if one year had a big repair.

Fixed costs per year
R/year
R/year
R/year
R/year
R
R
years

Depreciation = (purchase price − resale value) ÷ years kept.

R/year

The interest part of your instalments. For a vehicle paid in cash, what that money would have earned elsewhere.

Fleet and load

Multiplies the yearly totals and the savings for a fleet of the same kind of vehicle.

tons

The load it usually carries, to see the cost of moving one ton one kilometre.

Enter kilometres per year, fuel consumption and fuel price to see your cost per km. Add tyres, maintenance and fixed costs for the full picture.

How this is calculated

Costs are split into running costs, which grow with every kilometre, and fixed costs, which you pay whether the vehicle moves or not. The worked example is a farm bakkie doing 30 000 km a year, with fuel at an example price of R22/L; use your own figures, since fuel prices change every month.

  • Fuel consumption (L/100 km) = litres filled ÷ km driven since the last full tank × 100. 66 L after 600 km = 11 L/100 km.
  • Fuel (R/km) = L/100 km ÷ 100 × fuel price. 11 ÷ 100 × R22 = R2.42/km.
  • Tyres (R/km) = cost of a set ÷ tyre life in km. R12 000 ÷ 60 000 km = R0.20/km.
  • Maintenance (R/km) = maintenance and repairs per year ÷ km per year. R15 000 ÷ 30 000 = R0.50/km.
  • Running cost = fuel + tyres + maintenance. R2.42 + R0.20 + R0.50 = R3.12/km.
  • Depreciation (R/year) = (purchase price − resale value) ÷ years kept. (R600 000 − R300 000) ÷ 5 = R60 000.
  • Fixed cost (R/km) = (licence + insurance + tracking + driver wages + depreciation + interest) ÷ km per year. (R1 500 + R18 000 + R2 400 + R0 + R60 000 + R30 000) ÷ 30 000 = R111 900 ÷ 30 000 = R3.73/km.
  • Total cost = running + fixed = R6.85/km, or R6.85 × 30 000 = R205 500 a year. Three such bakkies cost R616 500 a year.
  • Fuel share = fuel per year ÷ total per year × 100. R2.42 × 30 000 = R72 600; R72 600 ÷ R205 500 = 35%.
  • Cost per ton-km = total R/km ÷ payload in tons. With a 1 t load, R6.85 per ton per km.
  • Fuel savings = fuel per year × 5% or 10%, for doing the same work with that much less fuel. R72 600 × 5% = R3 630 a year per bakkie; R72 600 × 10% = R7 260.

Fixed costs are spread over the kilometres you drive, so a vehicle that stands most of the year has a high cost per km even if it uses little fuel. Halve the example to 15 000 km and the fixed cost doubles to R7.46/km.

Blank cost fields count as zero, so the total is only as complete as what you enter. Leave out driver wages if the driver is paid for other work anyway, and include them if the vehicle needs its own driver.

Read the guide: Knowing what each kilometre costs your farm vehicles

Results are estimates for planning. Check product labels and local recommendations before you apply anything.