5 ms·

Electric Nissan Leaf has become the most popular car in Norway

48 points by thomasfl 13y ago

jwatte 13y ago
From what I can tell, it's also the most popular car in bay area commuter lanes! (Really, you can't find an open charger these days, it's getting ridiculous.)
- greglindahl 13y ago
  The Model S is outselling the Leaf in the bay area, but yeah, I see a lot of Leafs.
- eitally 13y ago
  And companies seem to be responding! :) It seems workplace chargers are popping up left and right -- hooray!
psutor 13y ago
IIRC Norway has a 200% tax on petroleum-powered vehicles (despite being a huge producer), so this is not terribly surprising. This makes a Tesla more in the price range of a small- or mid-sized BMW, and I suppose the Leaf would be extremely affordable, making it an obvious choice for anyone who is OK with the logistics of electric cars.
- j-g-faustus 13y ago
  The Tesla price range in Norway is roughly equivalent to the BMW 320i to 328i. The Leaf is the same price as a Ford Focus or VW Golf. So if you're looking for a car in this class, there's no extra cost to going electric.
- pjc50 13y ago
  despite being a huge producer This is actually very sensible: conserve oil for export, add it to the long-term social fund. The exact opposite of the Saudi approach (burn it cheaply in nonsustainable vanity projects and things like desalinated water for golf courses in a desert)
calibwam 13y ago
The article says that Nissan Leaf became the most sold car in October. However, it is the fourth most sold car in 2013 so far.
Loic 13y ago
Direct link to the article: http://www.dn.no/dnBil/article2710523.ece http://www.dn.no/dnBil/article2710523.ece English translation: http://translate.google.co.uk/translate?hl=en&sl=no&u=http://www.dn.no/dnBil/article2710523.ece http://translate.google.co.uk/translate?hl=en&sl=no&u=http:/...
Skinney 13y ago
Norway has a lot of benefits for electric cars, so that Leaf and the Tesla are bestsellers isn't surprising. In Norway, you pay less taxes on electric vehicles (petroleum-car tax), you get to park for free several places in the city, free charging station, and you can drive in the community lanes (usually reserved for taxis and busses).
biot 13y ago
Odd that Tesla isn't mentioned in the sales table given that it was supposedly the best-selling car for the previous month: https://www.hnsearch.com/search#request/submissions&q=norway&sortby=create_ts+desc https://www.hnsearch.com/search#request/submissions&q=norway...
- j-g-faustus 13y ago
  Not really. Last month was a special case: Several months of hype and preorders hit the statistics all at once when Tesla started delivery.
  - deleted 13y ago
    [deleted]
- vidarh 13y ago
  Here's a page where you can get sales numbers per month and for the year to date: http://ofvas.no/bilsalget/bilsalget_2013/bilsalget_i_september/ http://ofvas.no/bilsalget/bilsalget_2013/bilsalget_i_septemb... According to these numbers, Tesla did 98 cars in Norway in october, and 906 year to date - the vast majority (616) in september alone.
- btian 13y ago
  Because Tesla is supply constrained. There is simply not enough production capacity.
  - Shivetya 13y ago
    Lets not fool ourselves, they are price constrained for a larger number of people. Once the rich blow through their gotta have it phase then we will see if the demand is there. Considering the X is going to cost even more I really don't care much for Tesla right now, get back to me when they compete against the Leaf
    - smackfu 13y ago
      From what I've read, the price of an electric car is a less of a concern in Norway, due to very heavy subsidies and high petrol taxes.
perbu 13y ago
There are now no less than three 1st tier, mid-sized "native" fully electric vehicles on sale here. The Leaf, the BMW i3 and the e-UP in addition to the converted Ford Focus Electric. The Leaf is finally getting some competition. Surprising not to see Toyota participating yet. I expected them to have a head start since they have been producing hybrids ~forever.
- wattengard 13y ago
  The e-UP is hardly "mid-sized". And you forgot the MiEV and it's cousins. Toyta had the iQ proposed for an EV-conversion, but that went to hell in a glovecompartment... If Toyota took advantage of their partnership with Tesla and pushed out an Auris with a Leaf-like range, and an Avensis with a Model S-like range. Competitors shit would really hit the fan-belt... (Ok, I'm done with the bad car puns now :/ )
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]
- ams6110 13y ago
  Toyota are working on an EV but it's fuel-cell powered not battery. http://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-hy-toyota-fcv-fuel-cell-vehicle-20131105,0,6387979.story http://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-hy-toyota-fcv-fu...
Theodores 13y ago
Norwegians: Why would you buy an old fashioned petrol/diesel car when the electric version is nice and quiet, easier to drive, gets sold tax free, is able to whizz down the bus lanes, gets a free pass on toll roads, can be 'refuelled' for less and comes with free parking? Obviously there is range but you can hire a car for that or just get the old car out of the garage. You guys are going to be laughing at us and our 'Top Gear' broom-broom motoring culture in a few years time! Please do so loudly and shame us into changing our ways too.
- hxw 13y ago
  Because a Nissan Leaf still costs ~$30-35000 in Norway. I can buy a used, reliable, petrol car for under half of that. And the incentives the Norwegian Government introduced to encourage people to buy electric cars, will not last forever. It will definitely last through 2017, but after that - no one knows. The Norwegian Government will probably lose too much money, if people stopped buying petrol cars today.
  - martinald 13y ago
    Not really - Norway exports a huge amount of oil. They have one of the world's biggest sovereign wealth funds from the proceeds. It's currently worth ~$700billion. Considering there are only 5 million people in the country, they are not short of cash. So - any oil usage saved is somewhat made up by export revenues which go back to the state. Furthermore, the costs of electric cars will surely go down as economies of scale hit in, lessening the need for subsidies as time goes on.
    - hxw 13y ago
      Yes, we do have one of the biggest wealth funds. The problem is that we will probably have to spend more than we are spending today, if the income from taxes is reduced (our national budget will probably not become "cheaper" in the future). And if the demand for oil starts to decrease, maybe we'll spend more money than we are earning from oil export. I know this won't happen in the near future, but I still think that the electric cars will be taxed more one day. Other perks for electric car owners will probably be history in a few years too (electric cars clogging up the bus lanes). That being said, I hope I'm wrong. I wouldn't mind owning an electric car, the day I need to own a car.
Shivetya 13y ago
Leaf, the peoples car of the 21st century? Very close if not ideal daily range, cheap to operate, and of a useful size. The Beetle of the electric age.

48 points by thomasfl 13y ago

From what I can tell, it's also the most popular car in bay area commuter lanes! (Really, you can't find an open charger these days, it's getting ridiculous.)

greglindahl 13y ago
The Model S is outselling the Leaf in the bay area, but yeah, I see a lot of Leafs.
eitally 13y ago
And companies seem to be responding! :) It seems workplace chargers are popping up left and right -- hooray!

psutor 13y ago

IIRC Norway has a 200% tax on petroleum-powered vehicles (despite being a huge producer), so this is not terribly surprising. This makes a Tesla more in the price range of a small- or mid-sized BMW, and I suppose the Leaf would be extremely affordable, making it an obvious choice for anyone who is OK with the logistics of electric cars.

j-g-faustus 13y ago
The Tesla price range in Norway is roughly equivalent to the BMW 320i to 328i. The Leaf is the same price as a Ford Focus or VW Golf. So if you're looking for a car in this class, there's no extra cost to going electric.
pjc50 13y ago
despite being a huge producer This is actually very sensible: conserve oil for export, add it to the long-term social fund. The exact opposite of the Saudi approach (burn it cheaply in nonsustainable vanity projects and things like desalinated water for golf courses in a desert)

calibwam 13y ago

The article says that Nissan Leaf became the most sold car in October. However, it is the fourth most sold car in 2013 so far.

Loic 13y ago

Direct link to the article: http://www.dn.no/dnBil/article2710523.ece http://www.dn.no/dnBil/article2710523.ece English translation: http://translate.google.co.uk/translate?hl=en&sl=no&u=http://www.dn.no/dnBil/article2710523.ece http://translate.google.co.uk/translate?hl=en&sl=no&u=http:/...

Skinney 13y ago

Norway has a lot of benefits for electric cars, so that Leaf and the Tesla are bestsellers isn't surprising. In Norway, you pay less taxes on electric vehicles (petroleum-car tax), you get to park for free several places in the city, free charging station, and you can drive in the community lanes (usually reserved for taxis and busses).

biot 13y ago

Odd that Tesla isn't mentioned in the sales table given that it was supposedly the best-selling car for the previous month: https://www.hnsearch.com/search#request/submissions&q=norway&sortby=create_ts+desc https://www.hnsearch.com/search#request/submissions&q=norway...

j-g-faustus 13y ago
Not really. Last month was a special case: Several months of hype and preorders hit the statistics all at once when Tesla started delivery.
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]
vidarh 13y ago
Here's a page where you can get sales numbers per month and for the year to date: http://ofvas.no/bilsalget/bilsalget_2013/bilsalget_i_september/ http://ofvas.no/bilsalget/bilsalget_2013/bilsalget_i_septemb... According to these numbers, Tesla did 98 cars in Norway in october, and 906 year to date - the vast majority (616) in september alone.
btian 13y ago
Because Tesla is supply constrained. There is simply not enough production capacity.
- Shivetya 13y ago
  Lets not fool ourselves, they are price constrained for a larger number of people. Once the rich blow through their gotta have it phase then we will see if the demand is there. Considering the X is going to cost even more I really don't care much for Tesla right now, get back to me when they compete against the Leaf
  - smackfu 13y ago
    From what I've read, the price of an electric car is a less of a concern in Norway, due to very heavy subsidies and high petrol taxes.

perbu 13y ago

There are now no less than three 1st tier, mid-sized "native" fully electric vehicles on sale here. The Leaf, the BMW i3 and the e-UP in addition to the converted Ford Focus Electric. The Leaf is finally getting some competition. Surprising not to see Toyota participating yet. I expected them to have a head start since they have been producing hybrids ~forever.

wattengard 13y ago
The e-UP is hardly "mid-sized". And you forgot the MiEV and it's cousins. Toyta had the iQ proposed for an EV-conversion, but that went to hell in a glovecompartment... If Toyota took advantage of their partnership with Tesla and pushed out an Auris with a Leaf-like range, and an Avensis with a Model S-like range. Competitors shit would really hit the fan-belt... (Ok, I'm done with the bad car puns now :/ )
deleted 13y ago
[deleted]
ams6110 13y ago
Toyota are working on an EV but it's fuel-cell powered not battery. http://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-hy-toyota-fcv-fuel-cell-vehicle-20131105,0,6387979.story http://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-hy-toyota-fcv-fu...

Theodores 13y ago

Norwegians: Why would you buy an old fashioned petrol/diesel car when the electric version is nice and quiet, easier to drive, gets sold tax free, is able to whizz down the bus lanes, gets a free pass on toll roads, can be 'refuelled' for less and comes with free parking? Obviously there is range but you can hire a car for that or just get the old car out of the garage. You guys are going to be laughing at us and our 'Top Gear' broom-broom motoring culture in a few years time! Please do so loudly and shame us into changing our ways too.

hxw 13y ago
Because a Nissan Leaf still costs ~$30-35000 in Norway. I can buy a used, reliable, petrol car for under half of that. And the incentives the Norwegian Government introduced to encourage people to buy electric cars, will not last forever. It will definitely last through 2017, but after that - no one knows. The Norwegian Government will probably lose too much money, if people stopped buying petrol cars today.
- martinald 13y ago
  Not really - Norway exports a huge amount of oil. They have one of the world's biggest sovereign wealth funds from the proceeds. It's currently worth ~$700billion. Considering there are only 5 million people in the country, they are not short of cash. So - any oil usage saved is somewhat made up by export revenues which go back to the state. Furthermore, the costs of electric cars will surely go down as economies of scale hit in, lessening the need for subsidies as time goes on.
  - hxw 13y ago
    Yes, we do have one of the biggest wealth funds. The problem is that we will probably have to spend more than we are spending today, if the income from taxes is reduced (our national budget will probably not become "cheaper" in the future). And if the demand for oil starts to decrease, maybe we'll spend more money than we are earning from oil export. I know this won't happen in the near future, but I still think that the electric cars will be taxed more one day. Other perks for electric car owners will probably be history in a few years too (electric cars clogging up the bus lanes). That being said, I hope I'm wrong. I wouldn't mind owning an electric car, the day I need to own a car.

Shivetya 13y ago

Leaf, the peoples car of the 21st century? Very close if not ideal daily range, cheap to operate, and of a useful size. The Beetle of the electric age.