With electric cars now very much the future for most car manufacturers, many of us may be considering the switch — especially as the infrastructure is dragged, kicking and screaming, into something that resembles a usable network for EVs. However, it’s no secret that EVs command a premium over their ICE equivalents — but you may be surprised to learn that the cost of EV ownership fluctuates wildly across the globe.
Indeed, a study by Compare the Market found that the cost of a Nissan Leaf can vary by as much as $117,000, depending on where in the world you are.
As is often the case, thanks to a complicated mix of high import taxes and a certificate of entitlement, Singapore is the outlier, with the electric Nissan costing a mind-boggling $141,161 — that’s nearly six times as much as what you’d pay in Spain. Spain is actually the cheapest country to purchase a Leaf, with the hatchback starting at just $24,408. Those cheap Leafs are largely down to incentives that run until 2023, which entitles Spanish electric car buyers to subsidies of up to €7,000.
Read: These Are The Cheapest And Most Expensive Countries To Buy A New Range Rover
The United States is the fourth-cheapest country featured thanks to a $6,500 slash by Nissan in August, meaning the Leaf S starts at $27,400 (excluding a destination charge of $975). Crucially, US consumers pay significantly less for a Nissan Leaf than the global average, which works out at around $38,000 (£29,296).
While more people switch to EVs, conventional wisdom dictates that prices will fall, and zero local emission electric cars will become more affordable. However, despite battery prices (per kWh) dropping a staggering 89 percent from 2010, BloombergNEF’s recent report predicts that prices will rise again in 2022 thanks to an increase in lithium costs.
But, with many nations and manufacturers pledging to stop the sale of internal combustion engine vehicles, we may not have a choice. How the market responds and whether technological advances will bring down the cost of EVs remains to be seen.
