How Norway Became the Kingdom of the Electric Car

In Norway, 97 percent of cars sold—virtually all of them—are electric. And now, the number of cars on the road equipped with this technology has surpassed that of gasoline and natural gas vehicles. Among the most striking results of this paradigm shift, which began only in 1995 (with the launch of the City Bee produced by Pivco), is the "zero emissions" goal that Norway will achieve ten years ahead of its scheduled 2025 deadline.

But how did this Northern European country become the kingdom of the electric car? What are the keys that have enabled it to convince millions of drivers, when electric car registrations are plummeting across the EU?

Norway , despite being a major oil producer—the largest in Western Europe—has been investing in new energy sources for many years. This has changed the automotive industry's presence within its borders. In 2017, 40 percent of new car registrations were electric vehicles, and the boom in electric vehicles, which has consistently grown over time, has also been accompanied by a paradigm shift in energy sources, so much so that today 90 percent of the country's energy comes from hydroelectric sources.

The second key factor explaining Norway's leadership concerns incentives . The Norwegian government's reasoning, again a political choice matured over time, was very simple: incentives must ensure that the cost of an electric car for a consumer is equal to, if not lower than, the price of a diesel or gasoline-powered car. And so it was. The generous incentives for electric cars were financed by sales of oil extracted in Norway.

Finally, there are other incentives that don't concern the purchase but rather the life cycle of an electric car. In Norwegian cities, especially the capital Oslo , there are even charging stations with dedicated lanes for electric vehicles and parking spaces reserved for them. Electric cars in Norway are exempt from VAT and there is no road tax . They have their own special license plate, with the initials EL, and with it, they can park for free anywhere, use bus lanes, and cross the country without paying highway tolls. They can travel from the mainland to the islands, through tunnels and on ferries, always free of charge. Refueling is also very convenient. There are 8 charging points across the country (about 1.000 in Oslo alone, the world's electric car capital), and public ones are free. But even if you fill up at home, in the middle of the night, you pay no more than 15 cents for every 10 kilometers.

The next step is crucial: managing, despite a natural loosening of incentives, to transform the electric car from a product for a narrow class of "green consumers" to a mass-market vehicle for all drivers.

Read also:

• Prism, the smart charger for electric cars that reduces charging time by tenfold
• In Sweden, a road charges electric cars. It works like the game "Highway" (video)
• Electric cars: reaching 20 percent would be enough to halve urban pollution. Renault's commitment

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