Norway’s Stunning EV Uptake Continues

Norway’s EV uptake puts Australia to shame – but at least we’re now on the road to skyrocketing electric vehicle sales here as well.

2022 was another record-breaking year for the Scandinavian nation, with 79.3 percent of all new cars sold fully battery-electric vehicles according to the Norwegian Electric Vehicle Association. This was a big jump on 2021’s already very impressive 64.5%.

Norway (population: ~5.4 million) also has impressive public EV charging infrastructure to help support all these vehicles. Just in terms of fast chargers, 1,500 were established last year bringing the total to more than 5,600 nationwide.

“Our message to the rest of the world is crystal clear: Now there is no excuse for the internal combustion engines’ (ICE) unnecessary pollution when the climate crisis is so urgent to solve,” says the Association.

Norway’s EV success means the country also has a huge amount of rolling battery storage.

Towards 100% Zero Emissions Vehicles

EV buyers in Norway have enjoyed significant government support to make electric cars more affordable for years.

Back in 2016, the Norwegian Parliament set a goal of all new cars sold by 2025 being zero emissions. It probably seemed over-ambitious to many at the time, but given uptake since it would seem the target may be realised.

However, a significant bump in the road this year towards that target is the reintroduction of a 25% VAT (Value Added Tax) for new electric vehicles above NOK 500,000, which is ~AUD $73,769 at current exchange rates. Also coming into play is a weight tax after the first 500 kilograms that previously only applied to ICE vehicles; including hybrids.

The A-ha EV Factor

It hasn’t just been government support that helped drive initial interest in electric vehicles in Norway. Remember the Norwegian band a-ha? In case you don’t, here’s a reminder circa 1986.

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What does a-ha have to do with electric vehicles? Briefly, in the late 1980’s the band imported a Fiat Panda converted to an EV; said to be the first electric vehicle on the Norway’s roads in modern times. It was used in a campaign of civil disobedience to draw attention to alternatives to polluting fossil fuel vehicles and the need for Norway’s government to support them.

More on the a-ha EV story here.

Australian EV Uptake

So, what’s the situation with electric uptake in Australia? Nothing like the success Norway has enjoyed. Yet.

In a report released in October last year, Australia’s Electric Vehicle Council said EVs represented 3.39 per cent of all vehicle sales. It doesn’t sound like much, but this was 65 per cent increase on 2021.

The Electric Vehicle Council pointed to Australia being a laggard on EV policy to blame for low uptake, which made Australia “still something of an afterthought” for global EV manufacturers.

A significant policy failing is a lack of fuel efficiency standards (explained here). This would likely have remained the state of play under an ongoing Morrison Government, but the good news is the Albanese Government is working on implementing fuel efficiency standards.

Curious about electric vehicles? Learn everything you need to know about EV charging, and using home solar power with an electric car.

Original Source: https://www.solarquotes.com.au/blog/norway-electric-vehicles-mb2779/