Fuel crisis
What's it actually costing your household?
Pick your cars and how far you drive. We'll show how much more you're paying than this time last year.
Petrol, a litre$2.54 → $2.97+43c
Diesel, a litre$1.85 → $2.67+82c
91 at the pump now$3.54national average
Your cars
Car 1
extra a year compared with a year ago. Noticeable, but you're getting off lightly.
a yearA year agoNow
Car 1: Family car1040 L, petrol$2,636$3,086+$449
Fuel spend$2,636$3,086
That extra money is like…
3extra tanks50 litres each
74flat whitesat about $6
69mince & cheese piesat about $6.50
How NZ compares with the world
Regular petrol, a litre, in NZ dollars, and what your driving would cost a year there.29thmost expensive petrol of 133 countries28% above the world average of $2.81 a litre
- Hong Kong$7.79$8,105$4,346 more
- Norway$5.52$5,740$1,980 more
- Denmark$5.13$5,336$1,577 more
- Netherlands$4.80$4,988$1,229 more
- Israel$4.60$4,786$1,027 more
- Switzerland$4.50$4,676$917 more
- United Kingdom$4.09$4,254$495 more
- New Zealand$3.61$3,759your year
- Australia$2.87$2,989$770 less
- South Korea$2.49$2,586$1,174 less
- Fiji$2.47$2,567$1,192 less
- China$2.43$2,531$1,229 less
- United States$2.17$2,255$1,504 less
- Japan$1.90$1,980$1,779 less
DailyFuels country directory, 19 Oct 2026 (133 countries), converted to NZ$ at today's exchange rate.
How we worked it out
- Litres come from how far each car drives and typical fuel use for that kind of car.
- Prices are MBIE's national average after discounts, the first week of September last year against this year, so it compares like with like.
- Diesel vehicles also pay road user charges, which haven't changed, so they aren't counted.
- The In-Work Tax Credit top-up ends by 31 March 2027, or sooner if 91 stays under $3 a litre for four weeks in a row.
Estimates only. MBIE weekly fuel price monitoring (adjusted retail price, early Sep 2025 vs early Sep 2026; 91 board price week ending 11 Oct 2026). IRD In-Work Tax Credit top-up. NZTA road user charges ($76 per 1,000 km for light diesel and electric vehicles).