Norway is on the Path to Going All Electric
The switch to EVs from fossil fueled cars is gaining momentum in Norway. Almost nine out of 10 cars sold in 2024 in the Nordic country were electric. In fact, the nation of 5.5 million people has adopted electric vehicles faster than any other country, according to telgrafi, and battery operated cars are becoming the norm in Oslo, Norway’s capital.
The trend started decades ago
While Norway is years ahead of other countries in embracing EVs, it could be because they started much earlier. The electric revolution began three decades ago, reported the BBC.
“It started already in the early 1990s,” Christina Bu, the secretary general of the Norwegian EV Association, told BBC. “Little by little taxing petrol and diesel engine cars more, so they have become a lot more expensive to purchase, whereas electric cars have been exempted from taxes.”
This support for EVs was actually introduced to help two Norwegian manufacturers. While both have since gone out of business, the incentives stayed on the books.
Even though Norway is an oil and natural gas producer, the country made the choice to support zero emissions and set a non-binding goal that all new cars sold starting in 2025 will be zero emission.
“We are closing up on the target, and I think that we will reach that goal,” said Norway’s deputy transport minister, Cecilie Knibe Kroglund.
Making the switch
An Oslo car dealership Harald A Møller has been importing volkswagens for 75 years. In early 2024 he stopped bringing in vehicles that run on fossil fuels. Now all the cars in his showroom are electric vehicles.
‘We think it’s wrong to advise a customer coming in here today to buy an ICE [internal combustion engine] car, because the future is electric,” said chief executive Ulf Tore Hekneby. “Long-range, high-charging speed. It’s hard to go back.”
The trend is being aided by the tax breaks and some additional perks that include free parking, discounts on toll roads, and access to bus lanes. While not banned, fossil fueled cars have higher taxes and registration fees.
Charging stations are located at gas stations – many pumps were replaced by fast-charging points – and there are now 27,000 public charges in Norway. This translates to 447 chargers per 100,000 people as opposed to 89 in the UK.
“A third of cars are now electric, and it will pass 50 percent in a few years,” said Kjell Werner Johansen from the Norwegian Centre for Transport Research. “I think the government accepts that a few new petrol or hybrid cars will still be on the market, but I don’t know anybody who wants to buy a diesel car these days.”
This transition started with the mindset that reducing emissions will help turn the tide against climate change. If other countries use the same incentives and encourage going electric, it will go a long way in helping to save the planet.
