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Power Transportation

Almost a Third of New Cars Sold In Norway Last Year Were Pure Electric (reuters.com) 213

Posted by BeauHD from the world-record dept.
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Reuters: Almost a third of new cars sold in Norway last year were pure electric, a new world record as the country strives to end sales of fossil-fueled vehicles by 2025. In a bid to cut carbon emissions and air pollution, Norway exempts battery-driven cars from most taxes and offers benefits such as free parking and charging points to hasten a shift from diesel and petrol engines. The independent Norwegian Road Federation (NRF) said on Wednesday that electric cars rose to 31.2 percent of all sales last year, from 20.8 percent in 2017 and just 5.5 percent in 2013, while sales of petrol and diesel cars plunged. The sales figures consolidate Norway's global lead in electric car sales per capita, part of an attempt by Western Europe's biggest producer of oil and gas to transform to a greener economy. For comparison, electric cars had a 2.2 percent share in China in 2017 and 1.2 percent in the United States, according to IEA data.
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Almost a Third of New Cars Sold In Norway Last Year Were Pure Electric More

Almost a Third of New Cars Sold In Norway Last Year Were Pure Electric

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  • The best pushers are not users (Score:3)

    by SuperKendall ( 25149 ) on Wednesday January 02, 2019 @05:37PM (#57894344)

    part of an attempt by Western Europe's biggest producer of oil and gas

    The best drug dealers know never to use the stuff they sell. :-)

    That said, the fact that so many people in Norway can go electric shows the cars are pretty much viable anywhere in large numbers.

    • Re:The best pushers are not users (Score:5, Insightful)

      by sycodon ( 149926 ) on Wednesday January 02, 2019 @05:44PM (#57894386)

      Norway generates about 90% of it's electrical power via Hydro [slashdot.org].

      That, and the fact the country could fit into Texas twice, you have the perfect place for electric cars.

      • Norway generates about 90% of it's electrical power via Hydro.

        Irrelevant as people people generally do not think (or care) about where power comes from.

        That, and the fact the country could fit into Texas twice

        That's a really limited view of how people in Europe live. Sure they country they live in may be tiny, but that just means you can drive to a lot more countries. Don't you think that a lot of people in Norway drive to at least Sweden and Denmark?

        Also, Norway is a lot bigger than you think [bit.ly].

        you have th

        • Norway may be bigger than you think, but that does not translate to commute distance. Checking with timeanddate.com shows that with the exception of Tromso and Svalbard every city in Norway listed is within 150 miles of Oslo.

          For me the question isn't how much do I commute every day, but how many times a month/year do I want to travel beyond that distance. More, how many times a week/month/year do I want to travel beyond the typical EV range? If its once or twice a year, sure rent a vehicle those one or two

          • For example a student who goes home on weekends and at every semester break probably can't get by with an EV if they go to school >300 miles from home. Someone who spends a good deal of their leisure time hiking far from the city probably can't get by with a EV. Someone who spends their weekends visiting other towns, cities and the countryside can't get by with an EV.

            What decade d you live in? A Tesla model D can go 335 miles on a charge, and the long range Model 3 can go 310 miles. There also also sup

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by quenda ( 644621 )

        Norway generates about 90% of it's electrical power via Hydro [slashdot.org].

        That, and the fact the country could fit into Texas twice, you have the perfect place for electric cars.

        That, and a trillion dollars of oil profits in the sovereign wealth funds, meaning you can afford big subsidies to help make the guilt go away.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by rtb61 ( 674572 )

        Yeah but it's bloody cold in Norway. If they had an American attitude, they would be burning fossil fuels like nobodies business to make their country more habitable and of course making Texas more uninhabitable, from flooded coast to burning lands. I don't think Norwegians know how rabid dog eat rabid dog capitalism works.

      • That, and the fact the country could fit into Texas twice, you have the perfect place for electric cars.

        Norway is less densely populated than Texas, most of its cities are along the coast (and bit inland, with the Oslo area being the only big "intrusion" of relatively high-density population farther inland), and it's elongated shape and inhospitable terrain probably means (though I haven't checked) that it takes quite a bit longer to drive from one end of Norway to another then from one end of Texas to another.

        In other words, Norway is not Denmark. Also, the climate in Texas is far more favourable for EVs tha

      • That, and the fact the country could fit into Texas twice, you have the perfect place for electric cars.

        Yes and no. It's also a country where getting from A to B is often 4 times further thanks to wonderfully windy roads around the amazing scenery.

        Now for powering up a hill as you're driving through the fjords, THAT is perfect for electic cars.

      • Norway generates about 90% of it's electrical power via Hydro [slashdot.org].

        Yup. So do a couple of other countries (e.g.: Switzerland) and in the grand scheme of things, with a few key exceptions (of the top of my head: India, China and Australia - you can google to find actual studies on the subject) most countries have power generation mixes that make EV slightly less polluting than ICE over their lifetime.
        (Yup, even countries like the US that burn coal : turns out that big central optimized power plants are more efficient than an engine miniaturized enough to fit in a car)

        That, and the fact the country could fit into Texas twice, you have the perfect place for electric cars.

        Now, h

    • Re:The best pushers are not users (Score:4, Interesting)

      by 110010001000 ( 697113 ) on Wednesday January 02, 2019 @05:46PM (#57894398) Homepage Journal
      More BS. "So many people". That amount to about 44,000 cars sold in a year. That means 0.008% of the population bought an EV. More hype from Tesla shysters trying to pump up the stock by convincing everyone that people are buying $60,000+ cars in large numbers.

      • The more impressive thing to me is not so much the sheer numbers numbers, but the percentages in an environment that is one of the worst for electric cars (cold temperatures affecting batteries, lots of need for running a heater for the interior).

        That meany people (yes 44k is still fair numbers of people) tells you a lot about wider acceptance.

      • Dude, there's plenty of people buying $60K+ cars. Think of any of the following you might see on any given day and understand they are way more than 60K:

        Mercedes S-Class (practically any model)
        Mercedes E-Class (almost every model)
        Mercedes GL-Class (practically any model)
        BMW 7-Series (practically any model)
        BMW 5, 6 Series (almost every model)
        Audi 6,7,8 Series (almost every model)
        Range Rover (almost every model)
        Jaguar (almost every model)
        Porsche (every model)


        There's probably 30 other mode
    • I disagree.

      I am a BMW i3 driver in Norway. And I'm an American by birth and I've traveled to about 80 countries in my life.

      Electric cars work extremely well here in Norway because of trust.

      Yesterday, when I tried to transport stuff from my office to my house and it wouldn't fit in my car, I went to Ikea and for about $40, rented a massive van for 3 hours which I used to pick up my stuff, move it and then returned the vehicle.

      Norway, Sweden, Denmark and to a more limited extent Finland are the most trusting

      • We actually can't afford to drive anything other than brand new electric cars in Oslo. Consider that a 5 year loan for an electric car is paid for completely by the money saved by getting rid of a diesel. In fact, when you add in the cost of EU control, the cost of gas, etc... buying a brand new BMW i3 is actually substantially cheaper than continuing to drive a gas vehicle. But it won't work in someplace like the UK or the US. These are protectionist societies. We assume everyone is guilty until proven innocent.... actually... we assume everyone is guilty and if they're proven innocent we congratulate their lawyers for being so damn good. Unless you live in a society of trust, you can't make a change this big. You have to actually be willing to work together towards something better.

        Norway's approach is to tax the hell out of ICE cars and then not tax the electric cars, thus making the electrics, as you explain, quite a bit cheaper (but still expensive in absolute terms). This approach makes sense in Norway as it is a small yet rich country that imports basically all of its cars. Since Norway does not have large scale auto manufacturers, it cannot make large enough investments/subsidies to make EVs cheaper than ICVs without resorting to taxation.

        The US, the UK, France, Germany, China,

  • “Strictly speaking I don’t think it’s possible, primarily because too many people don’t have a private parking space and won’t want to buy a plug-in car if they can’t establish a charging point at home,” ITE economist Lasse Fridstroem said.

    So either they force all landlords/etc in the country to install at least one charging point per apartment/tenant or they have to drop their 100% target.

    • Or have faith that the free market will take care of things. "This apartment looks great, I love the location, but does it have enough EV charging points? No? Ok, thanks for your time."
      • Sure, because there are apartment blocks anywhere that have trouble finding tenants?

      • Plenty of apartments around here that have EV charging points. Most people don't mind the $500-$1000 a month premium they have to pay to get them;(. Still at least you won't find any section 8 renters or kids there. They are pet friendly

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by DogDude ( 805747 )
      There'll be charging stations at parking meters and street lights in modern countries in the next few decades. Private businesses of all kinds are going to eventually pet them in everywhere. It's a very temporary problem.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by AHuxley ( 892839 )
      The tax rate on non electric will make buying and using non electric transport a luxury.
      Got a private track? Drive a non electric car around that and then transport it back on an electric truck.
      Pay the car tax? Soon the car tax will be replaced with a car ban.

      100% of the cars allowed on roads by the government will be electric.
      Thats the power of a government to shape transport to get that needed 100%.
      Then start to "inspect" private roads and ensure all cars used are "safe", registered and paying a

    • So either they force all landlords/etc in the country to install at least one charging point per apartment/tenant or they have to drop their 100% target.

      I agree that is a huge hurdle, however that is one reason hydrogen fuel cells will make for a sizable component of electric cars. Otherwise I agree, apartment dwellers would have a rough time with electric cars even if they all cycled out of a nearby charging station once a week or so.

      • So either they force all landlords/etc in the country to install at least one charging point per apartment/tenant or they have to drop their 100% target.

        I think it'll be harder than you think. I live in a HOA townhome community. I have an assigned parking space and am not allowed to install a charging point.

        At least one of my siblings lives in a house in a city which has neither a garage nor a driveway. They park on the streets. Where do you think they're going to charge their potential EV?

        • That's why I mention fuel cells - with hydrogen you would just fill up at a gas station converted to deliver hydrogen.

          I agree there are a LOT of places you will not be able to install or realistically use chargers. I already see some vandalized.

  • will do that.
    The gov is making people have to consider electric by making other transport more expensive.
    Making people change their car buying habits by imposing a new tax rate.
    Electric becomes the only way to buy a new car for a large number of working people.

  • I'm a Tesla owner AND I have PV solar on my roof. But I think it's pretty clear, once you really look at the facts, that all the subsidies aren't too practical.

    We're still early enough in the technology curve for EVs so they cost a premium price to purchase, and have more "hidden costs" that are less often talked about. (EG. You probably need to upgrade the electrical power in your garage so you can charge one of these cars without it taking 2 days to charge back up.) If you compromise on the costs, buyin

    • We're still early enough in the technology curve for EVs so they cost a premium price to purchase, and have more "hidden costs" that are less often talked about.

      Yes, we need you early adopters to pay for figuring that stuff out. Thanks!

  • You can get the car nice and toasty to a schedule or remote.

    Also if extreme cold don't need to keep the ICE ticking overnight.

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