Norway and Electric Cars

View Comments

• This may also explain things.

  The Norwegian EV incentives:

  No purchase/import taxes (1990-)
  Exemption from 25% VAT on purchase (2001-)
  No annual road tax (1996-)
  No charges on toll roads or ferries (1997- 2017).
  Maximum 50% of the total amount on ferry fares for electric vehicles (2018-)
  Maximum 50% of the total amount on toll roads (2019)
  Free municipal parking (1999- 2017)
  Parking fee for EVs was introduced locally with an upper limit of a maximum 50% of the full price (2018-)
  Access to bus lanes (2005-).
  New rules allow local authorities to limit the access to only include EVs that carry one or more passengers (2016)
  50 % reduced company car tax (2000-2018).
  Company car tax reduction reduced to 40% (2018-)
  Exemption from 25% VAT on leasing (2015)
  Fiscal compensation for the scrapping of fossil vans when converting to a zero-emission van (2018)
  Allowing holders of driver licence class B to drive electric vans class C1 (light lorries) up to 4250 kg (2019) 

• True. Also, most of Scandiland imposes huge taxes on car purchases (which is why there are so many 20yo Volvos driving around). If you can avoid these tariffs by buying electric, that's an attractive proposition.

• Over 93% of Norway's electricity is generated by hydro, that makes Norway able to power electric cars in a "green" manner, whereas in other countries electric cars are powered by burning coal, China and the USA being the more obvious examples. However, the reason the Norwegian government is able to afford to subsidise and incentivise the purchase and use of electric cars is that Norway exports huge amounts of oil and natural gas. Electric car use in Norway, even with hydro, relies on a massive output of CO2.

• I suppose most of us do most of our driving around town, but yes, I can see the argument that subsidies combined with considerable inconvenience to taking a long drive might help propel electric car sales.

  • If the list of 'subsidies' above is correct, it is a wonder that the EV take up is so low. Why would one purchase other than an EV with the tilted play8ing field?

    • Perhaps some Norskies do take long drives, or perhaps have a truck that they load up and thereby lose a lot of range.

• Right. Plus:

  • 97% of Norway’s electricity comes from hydropower; its electricity prices are 40%-70% of European levels

  • In Norway, EVs are exempt from VAT taxes and receive a 50% discount on toll roads and parking fees while ICE cars are subject to a 25% VAT, a CO2 tax, an NOx tax and a weight tax. As a result, Norwegian ICE cars are more expensive to buy and 75% more expensive to operate 

  From: https://am.jpmorgan.com/content/dam/jpm-am-aem/global/en/insights/eye-on-the-market/future-shock-amv.pdf

• Good point.

• The purchase taxes on conventionally powered cars in Norway is eye-watering. For reference, a few years ago I bought a BMW M140i new in the UK, and it cost around £32k optioned up. A Norwegian colleague noted that a similarly specced car in Norway would be over £70k equivalent because of the purchase/registration taxes. Offering electric cars free of these taxes is not the small discount it might be in just about every other country in the world.

• So, essentially 100% cheap and reliable hydro power, a small population concentrated in a relatively few areas and most journeys within a feasible milk float range. It still requires this fantastic level of subsidy (i.e, piling massive costs on real cars) to even get to 50% milk float.

  So that's what a revolution looks like!

• And I doubt if they do much long range driving at all in the winter.