New tax exemptions on EVs until 2020 and a goal to go full-electric in 2025 is Norway’s ascent to become the world’s electric vehicle (EV) market leader.
The government’s strategy has proved highly successful; recent quarterly data suggest around 25 percent of all newly registered autos in the country are plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) — a category that includes both pure electric and hybrid vehicles — according to information provider IHS and other sources.
Norway will ban the sale of all fossil fuel-based cars in the next decade, continuing its trend towards becoming one of the most ecologically progressive countries on the planet, according to reports.
Norway appears to be just one of the many countries aiming for all new car sales to go electric by 2025. This is in light of its desire to comply with its emission reduction goals. In fact, Norway appears to be one of the very few countries that could ever achieve such a feat.
“Norway has what is probably the world’s best incentives for zero emission vehicles and a correspondingly the world’s highest number of electric cars per capita by a wide margin,” according to the EV Norway, which provides information on the country’s electric vehicle market, website.
Politicians from both sides of the political spectrum have reportedly reached some concrete conclusions about 100 per cent of Norwegian cars running on green energy by 2025.
As of September 2016, 28.8 percent of new car sales in the country have already gone electric, and all-electric cars have 19 percent market shares. This is far more than any other countries.
Electric vehicle registrations as a proportion of overall market:
- Norway: 24.4%
- Netherlands: 1.8%
- France: 1.5%
- UK: 1.3%
- Germany: 0.7%
Given the growth in Norway, it may not be hard to imagine reaching 100 percent market share in a few years’ time. However, the tax exemption for electric vehicles until 2020 is a very significant part of this equation. After all, this bridges the gap until companies that are into making electric vehicles roll out their new models at more affordable prices. This includes Tesla’s Model 3 or the Chevy Bolt EV, all electric cars that are gaining quite the prominence in the market. Although it appears there was some political opposition to extending the tax exemptions for electric vehicles, as some people see this as a reason for the “rich” to buy Teslas.
Speaking about the possible 2025 ban on non-electric cars, Elon Musk, chief executive of US electric car company Tesla Motors, lauded the announcement.
“Just heard that Norway will ban new sales of fuel cars in 2025,” he wrote. “What an amazingly awesome country. You guys rock!!”
Norwegian authorities also announce that Norway will become the first country in the world to commit to zero deforestation.
Norway: Country of Electric Vehicles, written by Tor Kjolberg