In North America, the appeal of electric cars remains a great unknown for manufacturers and policy-makers alike. Not so in Norway, where consumers have made the choice clear, with hybrid and electric cars outselling their gasoline and diesel counterparts.
“About 52% of new cars sold in the country last year ran on new forms of fuel,” the New York Times reports, citing data released last week by Norway’s Road Traffic Advisory Board.
- Concise headlines. Original content. Timely news and views from a select group of opinion leaders. Special extras.
- Everything you need, nothing you don’t.
- The Weekender: The climate news you need.
Christina Bu, Secretary General of the Norwegian Electric Vehicle Association, maintained sales of electric cars “could have been even higher, but some buyers continued to hold out for newer models like Tesla’s Model 3.”
Norway, a major oil producer, aims to become carbon neutral at home by 2030, and intends to ban the sale of new gasoline and diesel cars by 2025.
Norwegians’ embrace of electric cars, the Times reports, has been helped significantly by subsidies and tax breaks that lower their cost, as well as “a bevy of other benefits: cheaper parking, the use of bus lanes for carpoolers during rush hours, and exemptions from the vast majority of road tolls.” Governments have also invested in a nationwide network of charging stations to address drivers’ range anxiety.
