7 ms·

The income is not evenly distributed.

by astazangasta 10y ago

varjag 10y ago
That can't be the reason on the national level. People used to buy plenty of Fords.
- dpark 10y ago
  People still buy plenty of Fords. Far, far more Fords than Teslas. What are you taking about?
  - varjag 10y ago
    Not in my country.
    - dpark 10y ago
      Where exactly do you live? A quick search indicates that Tesla is outselling Ford in Norway. If you live in Norway, then astazangasta is correct and you're looking at a symptom of income inequality. Norway is rather wealthy even by Western standards. Tesla has done a great job of dressing up a status symbol as an environmentally friendly choice. (Or vice versa.) If you look at the poorer citizens in your country, you'll likely find no Teslas, and few electric cars in general.
      - varjag 10y ago
        Yes it's Norway, and no, while poorer people (like me) don't drive Teslas - they drive Leafs or e-Golfs, so I maintain it has nothing to do with inequality. Nobody buy Fords because they don't have a viable EV offering on the market. Norwegians aren't really wealthier than say Danes, who have very different outcome of EV market so far due to very different policies. Nobody I know here bought a petrol car last two years; one got a plug-in hybrid. Tesla is hardly a status symbol here, it attracts customers both from the middle and luxury segments. People who in the past would consider Audi A5 or Volvo X70 would go for Tesla. The economics for electric cars are simply much better.
        dpark 10y ago
        "Poor" is relative since apparently workers in Norway earn more per capita than any other nation. A quick search indicates you guys earn something like 55% more than workers in France or Britain. So you could feel pretty poor relative to your neighbors and still bring in significantly more than the average in even affluent countries. A quick search also indicates that your gas is 25% more expensive than France or Britain, and more importantly that your electric car incentives are so absurd that your politicians are beginning to roll them back. No taxes, no tolls, no ferry charges, no parking fees, free use of bus lanes. Electric cars there are cheaper than equivalent gas powered cars, because the taxes are ~50% of the cost. Yeah, with incentives like that, I'd probably own an electric car, too. I'm not sure this counts as an electric car revolution so much as a government handout, though. If the government subsidized 50% of the price of Fords, you'd probably see their sales skyrocket but no one would really call that a revolution. Tesla is definitely a status symbol, though. The fact that Audi drivers moved to Tesla didn't dispute that because Audi is also a status symbol. Volvo to a lesser extent.
        varjag 10y ago
        Average income here is way below Bay Area however, and it has less EV per capita than Norway. Perhaps you chose a poor metric. Parking is not free, although some municipalities subsidize rebates for EV spots in select garages. Urban dwellers (majority of EV market) nearly never take ferries. Incentives were clearly temporary from the beginning, you are hardly breaking any news to me here. The price of car is not subsidized, a Tesla here costs more dollar-to-dollar than it does in California before rebates. Sure there are (also temporary) import tax incentives, but it's about the only way a government can encourage adoption of clean tech in chicken and egg infrastructure situation. There has to be some upside for being the first guy in the town who can't fill at gas station. As soon as it gains momentum, the incentives will be rolled back. It is however already clear that EV adoption in Norway is a success. Also you have to be really really broke to see an ordinary German sedan as a status symbol, certainly not anywhere in Western Europe.
        dpark 10y ago

The income is not evenly distributed.

varjag 10y ago

That can't be the reason on the national level. People used to buy plenty of Fords.

dpark 10y ago
People still buy plenty of Fords. Far, far more Fords than Teslas. What are you taking about?
- varjag 10y ago
  Not in my country.
  - dpark 10y ago
    Where exactly do you live? A quick search indicates that Tesla is outselling Ford in Norway. If you live in Norway, then astazangasta is correct and you're looking at a symptom of income inequality. Norway is rather wealthy even by Western standards. Tesla has done a great job of dressing up a status symbol as an environmentally friendly choice. (Or vice versa.) If you look at the poorer citizens in your country, you'll likely find no Teslas, and few electric cars in general.
    - varjag 10y ago
      Yes it's Norway, and no, while poorer people (like me) don't drive Teslas - they drive Leafs or e-Golfs, so I maintain it has nothing to do with inequality. Nobody buy Fords because they don't have a viable EV offering on the market. Norwegians aren't really wealthier than say Danes, who have very different outcome of EV market so far due to very different policies. Nobody I know here bought a petrol car last two years; one got a plug-in hybrid. Tesla is hardly a status symbol here, it attracts customers both from the middle and luxury segments. People who in the past would consider Audi A5 or Volvo X70 would go for Tesla. The economics for electric cars are simply much better.
      - dpark 10y ago
        "Poor" is relative since apparently workers in Norway earn more per capita than any other nation. A quick search indicates you guys earn something like 55% more than workers in France or Britain. So you could feel pretty poor relative to your neighbors and still bring in significantly more than the average in even affluent countries. A quick search also indicates that your gas is 25% more expensive than France or Britain, and more importantly that your electric car incentives are so absurd that your politicians are beginning to roll them back. No taxes, no tolls, no ferry charges, no parking fees, free use of bus lanes. Electric cars there are cheaper than equivalent gas powered cars, because the taxes are ~50% of the cost. Yeah, with incentives like that, I'd probably own an electric car, too. I'm not sure this counts as an electric car revolution so much as a government handout, though. If the government subsidized 50% of the price of Fords, you'd probably see their sales skyrocket but no one would really call that a revolution. Tesla is definitely a status symbol, though. The fact that Audi drivers moved to Tesla didn't dispute that because Audi is also a status symbol. Volvo to a lesser extent.
        varjag 10y ago
        Average income here is way below Bay Area however, and it has less EV per capita than Norway. Perhaps you chose a poor metric. Parking is not free, although some municipalities subsidize rebates for EV spots in select garages. Urban dwellers (majority of EV market) nearly never take ferries. Incentives were clearly temporary from the beginning, you are hardly breaking any news to me here. The price of car is not subsidized, a Tesla here costs more dollar-to-dollar than it does in California before rebates. Sure there are (also temporary) import tax incentives, but it's about the only way a government can encourage adoption of clean tech in chicken and egg infrastructure situation. There has to be some upside for being the first guy in the town who can't fill at gas station. As soon as it gains momentum, the incentives will be rolled back. It is however already clear that EV adoption in Norway is a success. Also you have to be really really broke to see an ordinary German sedan as a status symbol, certainly not anywhere in Western Europe.
        dpark 10y ago