OSLO, Norway — The sales of EV´s and hybrids made up 52% of all new car sales in 2017, up 12% from the previous year, according to the independent Norwegian Road Federation (OFV). Norway`s autonomous vehicle industry has benefitted from a deed in the form of subsidies that effectively promoted such growth.
This accomplishment sets Norway ahead globally in replacing hydrogen-fueled vehicles with greener transportation, a fact highlighted by a statement from OFV chief Oeyvind Solberg Thorsen, who said: “For the first time, we have a fossil fuel market share below 50 percent.”
The achievements of Norway have gone far in the green energy sector, generating most of its electricity from hydropower, and decidedly supporting EV´s upcoming into the non-fossil fuel automobile market to the leading point it holds today, thus helping to reduce air pollution and climate change. Not only has it done so with economic grants but also with tax exemptions, free parking, and charging.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) has weighed Norway to be far ahead in sales of electric vehicles, of competitive automaker countries such as the Netherlands, Sweden, China, France and Britain. IEA has pointed out Norway to have risen to 39 percent in 2017 from 29 in 2016 when the Netherlands was in second with 6.4 percent.
Norway´s EV car policies striking difference with big offshore oil and gas production is emphasized by Thorsen as he said to Reuters “The shift has gone faster than we’d thought, and the big carmakers say they’re going all in to produce non-fossil cars,”
Noting the upturn of the EV sales, a plan called “Tesla Tax” was drawn last year by the right-wing government to cut incentives. However, Christina Bu, head of the Norwegian Electric Vehicle Association which represents owners, in a statement to Reuters said it was too early to reduce incentives for electric cars, indicating that parliament`s goal of phasing out sales of fossil fuel vehicles by 2025. And that, “It’s an ambitious goal only seven years away…”
The Norwegian distribution of EV car sales in 2017 stayed as follows: Volkswagen Golf, BMW i3, Toyota Rav4 and Tesla Model X. This last one being the pure electric and others have electric or hybrid versions.
The total sales of electric cars in that country peaked 21 percent in 2017 from 16 percent in 2016, while diesel car sales fell to 23 percent in 2017 down from 31 percent in 2016.
Notably, some regions in Norway have started to charge higher road tolls for diesel cars than for petrol-driven vehicles.
pictures (c) FT.com/InsideEVs.com
