The average annual cost of new vehicle ownership is just shy of the $10,000 mark, or $805.50 per month, according to new data collected by AAA.

The biggest factor pushing the nearly $9,666 annual price tag is depreciation, accounting for 40 percent of all ownership expenses, the national member association reported. Depreciation’s share outpaced additional costs such as fuel and maintenance, AAA officials said.

“Consumers have to remember the expense of owning a car goes far beyond the monthly payment,” said AAA Industry Relations Director Greg Brannon. “Plus, we are seeing costs increase for a number of products recently, and cars are no exception.”

He said he expected the trend is likely to continue as new vehicles come equipped with the latest technology, naturally driving up the sticker price.

The average price of a new vehicle for 2021 is $32,903, which is $1,502 higher than last year, the study found. Models in the small sedan, medium sedan, medium SUV and hybrid categories averaged an increase in vehicle price of $3,064, led by hybrids as consumers opt for larger, more expensive models in this category.

Pickup trucks saw an increase of $4,684 — an average of 11 percent. The sharp increase, however, has not affected the segment’s popularity, as they remain the best-selling category of those included in the study, researchers noted.

Researchers selected top-selling, mid-priced models and compared them across six expense categories, such as fuel, maintenance/repair/tire costs, insurance, license/registration/taxes, depreciation and finance charges.

Other key findings in the study include:

• On average, fuel cost 10.72 cents per mile based on data from May 2020 to May 2021, which did not include recent spikes in gas prices. Fuel costs varied widely by vehicle type, ranging from a low of 3.66 cents per mile for electric vehicles, to 15.81 cents per mile for pickup trucks.
• Maintenance and repair costs averaged out to 9.55 cents per mile. Similar to fuel-powered vehicles, electric vehicles are on the lower end of the spectrum, costing 7.70 cents per mile, while medium sedans are the most expensive at 10.43 cents per mile, the study found.
• The cost of vehicle loans decreased due to a drop in the prime lending rate. The average interest rate in 2021 was 4.12 percent — 1.056 percentage points lower than last year.

The study reviewed nine categories of vehicles, comprising 45 models, to determine the average annual operating and ownership costs of each.

The study added two new categories — subcompact SUVs and midsize pickup trucks — to replace large sedans and minivans, both of which no longer offer enough new models to be tracked. The trend of buyers moving away from previously popular categories, such as sedans, to newer styles, such as compact SUVs has continued, data found.

Buying a car remains the second most costly purchase most people will make in their lifetime, the study summary noted, reminding consumers of the importance of completing substantial research ahead of the buying process.