“Electric cars comprised 54% of all new vehicle sales in Norway for 2019.”
Marinate that one in your noggin for a moment.
“This makes Norway the first country to have sold more electric cars than petrol, hybrid, and diesel engines in a year.
“The Norwegian government plans to ban the sale of petrol and diesel cars by 2025, and is using tax breaks and financial incentives to encourage the purchasing of more sustainable vehicles.”
What electric cars are the Norwegians going for?
“The most popular model in the country was the Audi e-tron sports utility and sportsback vehicles, with the Tesla mid-size Model 3 taking second place.”
I checked. The Audi starts at 72,000€ and the Tesla at 51,000€. Yowza!
So there are two things at play here. First, Norway has twice the GDP per capita than France and 15% higher than the US even—they’re rolling in cash, so these prices don’t scare them perhaps as much as they do me. And second: here’s the list of tax breaks (and life breaks) they get when they buy an electric vehicle:
No annual road tax
Maximum 50% of the total amount on ferry fares for electric vehicles
Parking fee for EVs implemented locally but with an upper limit of a maximum 50% of the full price
Access to bus lanes
Company car tax reduction reduced to 40%
No purchase/import taxes
Exemption from 25% VAT on purchase.
If all goes to plan then, in 2025 Norweigan bus lanes will simply be known as ‘lanes’.
The above purchase prices include VAT, so once you lop that off, the prices look slightly less scary.
By the way, how did Norway get so rich?
Oil and gas exports.
[Cover photo by Ralph Hutter]