Tesla Model 3 is cheapest in Macau and most expensive in Singapore: Study

Macau is the cheapest country to buy and own an electric vehicle, claims a study by Confused.com. The study also finds that China, Romania, Japan, France, Norway, Switzerland, Puerto Rico, United states and Iceland are the other top nine countries in the world to buy and own electric vehicles; thanks to the subsidies offered by these countries' governments.

Singapore on the other hand is the most expensive country to buy an own an electric vehicle, claims the study. Other top nine countries in the list of most expensive place to buy an electric vehicle are - Israel, Sweden, Czech Republic, Denmark, Luxembourg, Portugal, Taiwan, Netherlands and UK.

The growth of electric vehicles around the world is deeply intertwined with the issue of affordability. Electric vehicles around the world are still significantly expensive compared to their internal combustion engine-powered counterparts. The battery price contributes a large chunk of the EV cost. Scarcity of battery minerals is one of the key reasons behind this.

However, there is a catch in the study. The research only compared pricing of Tesla Model 3 as a benchmark electric car. There are other electric cars available in the market that are much cheaper compared to Tesla Model 3.

The study picked up the Tesla Model 3 and checked its pricing across countries. It was found that Macau is the country where the EV is least expensive to purchase. The all-electric compact sedan can be purchased there at an upfront cost of $40,382.

The country where Tesla Model 3 is most expensive is Singapore. The electric car costs $83,489 in the country, majorly due to the high taxes imposed in Singapore. This results in the Tesla Model 3 being priced nearly $20,000 more than its cost in the second most expensive country Israel, where it retails at $64,629.