Norway: Electric Car Capitol of the World

Oslo, the capital of Norway is fully committed to eliminate pollution and CO2 Emission with a goal to become 100% of new car sales to be zero-emission vehicles starting in 2025. The growth in electric vehicle (EV) use in Norway has been pretty remarkable of late. Today, Norway has the highest per capita number of all-electric [battery only] cars in the world: more than 100,000 in a country of 5.2 million people. Last year, EVs constituted nearly 40 percent of the nation’s newly registered passenger cars.  It’s 10 times what most countries are doing these days. This boost has been driven by concerns such as pollution, carbon emissions, climate change, and most importantly, a concerted political will to do something about it.

Reasons for the rapid growth of EVs

Public subsidies 

This has come on the back of incentives from the Norway Government. The Norway’s government has implemented the world’s most generous program of electric vehicle incentives. This includes benefits like  · Exemption from the 25% VAT on purchase or leasing · No import or purchase taxes · No charges on tolls or ferries · Free access to bus lanes · Free municipal parking · Free charging station use · Low annual road tax · And many more In addition, the government is financing at least two multi-standard charging stations every 50 kilometers on all main roads in Norway by end of 2017 to allow for long distance trips using electric vehicles The green transformation in transportation has also created new business opportunities in sectors like charging equipment, charging services, renewable energy, EV manufacturing, smart-grids, back-office systems and applications, both in Norway and Europe. 

Falling battery prices and better technology

The other huge driver here is falling battery costs for EVs and recent technological developments have changed the game. For one, the cost of lithium-ion batteries, which account for about 40% of an EV or hybrid vehicle’s cost, has fallen by two-thirds since 2010 — much faster than experts had anticipated and with further steep reductions expected in the near future. Six years ago, the average EV battery sold for more than $1,000 per kilowatt-hour; now it goes for less than $350. It could drop to as low as $125 in the near future, industry experts say.    

Could It Happen Elsewhere?

Experts are convinced that Europe and other continents, too, are now turning the corner on e-mobility. It’s the aim of all big cities worldwide to ambitiously tackle the climate and urban congestion issues that they all face. China leads the world in EV usage, with about 600,000 all-electric vehicles on its roads and an ambitious plan to deploy 5m EVs by 2020. The US ranks third globally, with fewer than 500,000 EVs. But electric vehicle momentum is picking up in the US, as evidenced by the 400,000 people who have paid $1,000 to be on the waiting list for Tesla’s $35,000 Model 3 car. But it could be difficult for other cities or countries to replicate Norwegian program because most of the funding comes from there offshore oil and natural gas business and they also have access to abundant and cheap zero-emission hydroelectric power. The real test will come when the Norwegian government revokes many of these incentives over time. Nevertheless, because of rapid technological advances and strong government support for EVs in Europe and China, experts maintain that a new era in electro mobility is dawning — and that this time there’s more to the prediction than industry optimism.  

Fun Facts about Electric Car Market

• Half of all new cars in Norway are electric or hybrid
• Norway already has the highest per capita number of all-electric cars in the world: more than 100,000 in a population of 5.2 million.
• Electric vehicles now make up more than 1 percent of sales in China, France, Denmark, and Sweden.
• The top markets by electric vehicle share of new passenger vehicles are Oslo (27%), Utrecht (15%), Shanghai (11%), Shenzhen (10%), Amsterdam (10%), and San Jose (9.4%)
• There was a time when electric vehicles strongly outnumbered gasoline cars in NYC

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