As we already know, currently Norway has the most advanced electric car market in the world. Electrified cars, therefore also hybrids and plug-in hybrids, together with full electric cars occupy 95% of the 2021 market, according to the data for the first half of the year. Among the 15 best-selling models in the Scandinavian country there are currently 14 electric, and the intruder is still a model on tap (Toyota RAV4 PHEV). In addition, local residents can boast an absolutely clean energy supply, since 98% of it is based on renewables (even considering that the country is famous for its oil reserves).
Norway is always an interesting case because it is a cold place with long distances to travel between one place and another. According to some common fears of the average motorist, it would be a frozen hell for electric. And instead we are witnessing the boom of this segment. The credit obviously also goes to the over 16,000 charging stations, which are quite a lot in relation to a population of 5.3 million people (and of which about 4 million are actually of a driving license age). And incentives, recalibrated on reduced purchase taxes.
Taxes are being discussed today in Oslo and the surrounding area. The local government is deciding whether to impose a luxury tax that would affect several electric vehicles on the list, more precisely those costing over 600,000 Norwegian kroner, at an exchange rate of around 60,000 euros. The tax would be a kind of 25% VAT. According to Autoevolution, “Norwegian tax breaks for electric vehicles have resulted in increased sales, but politicians have explained that subsidies cannot last forever“. After all, there is another justification: if Norway was the first to ban, as its intention, the sale of petrol or diesel cars, then the incentive to buy an electric car would no longer be necessary instead of a car with another ‘ Power supply’.
It will be interesting to follow the evolution of the Norwegian market, should the proposal go through.