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A side note in the article is the collapse of electric vehicle sales in Norway. '...the current administration had decided to phase out tax breaks on electric

A side note in the article is the collapse of electric vehicle sales in Norway. '...the current administration had decided to phase out tax breaks on electric cars, citing budget constraints and the desire to level the playing field. That decision was delayed in June amid a dramatic drop in sales of Electrically Chargeable Vehicles (ECVs)'. ECV sales have relied very heavily on subsidy in most of the western world, it will be interesting to see demand when competing on a level playing field with ICE vehicles

sundvor 9y ago
Collapse of EV sales in Norway? Quick, someone needs to call Tesla about that.. https://electrek.co/2017/12/19/tesla-breaks-new-records-norway-most-popular-automaker/ https://electrek.co/2017/12/19/tesla-breaks-new-records-norw...
- olivermarks 9y ago
  https://www.ft.com/content/fe6b79d4-af31-11e7-aab9-abaa44b1e130 https://www.ft.com/content/fe6b79d4-af31-11e7-aab9-abaa44b1e...
  - sundvor 9y ago
    That's paywalled for me. However going by the title, that's old news as the tax was shot down at the end of the year. https://e24.no/makro-og-politikk/statsbudsjettet-2018/tesla-skatten-vrakes-i-budsjettavtalen/24193659 https://e24.no/makro-og-politikk/statsbudsjettet-2018/tesla-... EU may enforce VAT on the cars, time will tell: https://www.aftenposten.no/norge/politikk/i/nkkxd/Ap-vil-ha-utredet-moms-pa-dyre-el-biler-Regjeringen-far-neppe-igjennom-okt-engangsavgift https://www.aftenposten.no/norge/politikk/i/nkkxd/Ap-vil-ha-... We'll see how that goes. Fun fact: Norwegians don't like EU telling them what to do. (I'm a Norwegian, moved to Australia nearly 2 decades ago).
    - olivermarks 9y ago
      They re not sure when to reduce the tax but sales have gone down anyway, probably in anticipation of changes 'Norway has been hugely successful in introducing electric cars and aims to sell only zero-emission new vehicles by 2025. But critics argue that their popularity is mostly down to an extremely generous set of subsidies that can cut the price of the most expensive Teslas by about NKr450,000. When and how to withdraw those subsidies has sparked a huge political debate. Some Norwegian politicians point out that many of the early adopters of electric cars were rich households buying Teslas. Bus drivers in the richest parts of Oslo complain that bus lanes are clogged with electric cars, which are permitted to use them'.
      - seanmcdirmid 9y ago
        Uhm, it is not exactly subsidies in Norway, but a reduction in a very high tax for EVs, making them comparatively more affordable than ICEs.
        sundvor 9y ago
        Yep. EVs are both exempt of MVA (GST/VAT) tax and registration fee, whereas combustion engines vehicles (CVs?) are most definitely not. Thus EVs are thus cheap or at least affordable by function of contrast.
alkonaut 9y ago
EVs will sell just fine without subsidy once prices for long-range ones reaches parity with ICEs. I’m willing to pay a premium to drive an EV but perhaps 10% or so, not more. If subsidies are removed too soon, sales (increases) will flatten. A good reason for subsidizing heavily early on is to get critical mass in infrastructure with chargers etc.

sundvor 9y ago

Collapse of EV sales in Norway? Quick, someone needs to call Tesla about that.. https://electrek.co/2017/12/19/tesla-breaks-new-records-norway-most-popular-automaker/ https://electrek.co/2017/12/19/tesla-breaks-new-records-norw...

olivermarks 9y ago
https://www.ft.com/content/fe6b79d4-af31-11e7-aab9-abaa44b1e130 https://www.ft.com/content/fe6b79d4-af31-11e7-aab9-abaa44b1e...
- sundvor 9y ago
  That's paywalled for me. However going by the title, that's old news as the tax was shot down at the end of the year. https://e24.no/makro-og-politikk/statsbudsjettet-2018/tesla-skatten-vrakes-i-budsjettavtalen/24193659 https://e24.no/makro-og-politikk/statsbudsjettet-2018/tesla-... EU may enforce VAT on the cars, time will tell: https://www.aftenposten.no/norge/politikk/i/nkkxd/Ap-vil-ha-utredet-moms-pa-dyre-el-biler-Regjeringen-far-neppe-igjennom-okt-engangsavgift https://www.aftenposten.no/norge/politikk/i/nkkxd/Ap-vil-ha-... We'll see how that goes. Fun fact: Norwegians don't like EU telling them what to do. (I'm a Norwegian, moved to Australia nearly 2 decades ago).
  - olivermarks 9y ago
    They re not sure when to reduce the tax but sales have gone down anyway, probably in anticipation of changes 'Norway has been hugely successful in introducing electric cars and aims to sell only zero-emission new vehicles by 2025. But critics argue that their popularity is mostly down to an extremely generous set of subsidies that can cut the price of the most expensive Teslas by about NKr450,000. When and how to withdraw those subsidies has sparked a huge political debate. Some Norwegian politicians point out that many of the early adopters of electric cars were rich households buying Teslas. Bus drivers in the richest parts of Oslo complain that bus lanes are clogged with electric cars, which are permitted to use them'.
    - seanmcdirmid 9y ago
      Uhm, it is not exactly subsidies in Norway, but a reduction in a very high tax for EVs, making them comparatively more affordable than ICEs.
      - sundvor 9y ago
        Yep. EVs are both exempt of MVA (GST/VAT) tax and registration fee, whereas combustion engines vehicles (CVs?) are most definitely not. Thus EVs are thus cheap or at least affordable by function of contrast.

alkonaut 9y ago

EVs will sell just fine without subsidy once prices for long-range ones reaches parity with ICEs. I’m willing to pay a premium to drive an EV but perhaps 10% or so, not more. If subsidies are removed too soon, sales (increases) will flatten. A good reason for subsidizing heavily early on is to get critical mass in infrastructure with chargers etc.