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The funny thing is, if there’s a country that practically would adopt electric cars last, it would be Norway. It’s got large distances and low prevailing temper
by moomin 9y ago
The funny thing is, if there’s a country that practically would adopt electric cars last, it would be Norway. It’s got large distances and low prevailing temperatures, neither of which are favourable to electric cars.
That’s how it would go if countries were equal. However, Norway’s a fairly enlightened and forward thinking place, so politically it’s not surprising they’re way ahead of the curve.
- dogma1138 9y agoNothing to do with being forward thinking it’s about money. When you can buy a Tesla for the same price or cheaper and a bloody Volkswagen Passat you are going to buy a Tesla. The Passat which in the US would cost you $20,000 has an on road price which starts at around $60,000 in Norway and most versions would cost you $70-75K.
- gnarbarian 9y agoYep. Norway discourages gas powered vehicle ownership through miles of red tape and taxes.
- apcragg 9y agoIs that a bad thing though? Are they just pricing in the externalities of gas powered cars?
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- dogma1138 9y agoIt discourages ownership of any vehicle, it just affects EVs currently less. Norway didn’t implement those policies to encourage EVs due to how the laws and regulations were structured they just sliped through, and this won’t last for much longer there has been quite a bit of talk of closing some of the loopholes and cutting some of the subsidies.
- moomin 9y agoI think you’re confusing aims and mechanisms.
- dogma1138 9y agoNope, EVs are not cheap by design for the most part they are cheap by loopholes. Norway treats cars as luxury items and taxes them accordingly with 100% or higher import taxes and considerable overall road tax. This isn’t that different than some other EU countries but the combination of an asinine taxation policy and a handful of incentives created a situation where cheap cars cost a fortune, where luxury cars are effectively a skin job but some EVs despite being a luxury item slip through. Norway is already planning to cut many incentive and like many other EU countries tax EVs on a KW/h basis as well as their weight and class just like ICE cars are taxed today. This would mean that the price and TCO of Tesla would increase to the level of other similarly priced cars in Norway which by 2020 should put a $100,000 US Tesla Model whatever in the $250-300K range in Norway just like the $22,000 cars costing $60000. Cheaper EVs like the Leaf and Model 3 should remain affordable, at least to what Norwegians have been forced to call affordable.
- giiguughh 9y agoRetarded policy leads to stupid choice
- widforss 9y agoBut a third fact is true of Norway. You don't drive very far because of the geography. Instead, the market for domestic flights is booming. If you live in a country where you don't drive your car outside your county (sligth exaggeration there), there's no need for fossil fuel.
- seanmcdirmid 9y agoNorway also has abundant hydro electricity. EV use makes a lot of sense in that context.
- mcguire 9y agoNorway is an unusual country in many ways. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_Pension_Fund_of_Norway?wprov=sfla1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_Pension_Fund_of_Nor...