Oslo, Norway - Sales of electric and hybrid cars
rose above half of new registrations in Norway in 2017, a record
aided by generous subsidies that extended the country's lead in
shifting from fossil-fuel engines.
The independent Norwegian Road Federation said pure electric cars and hybrids, which have both battery
power and a diesel or petrol engine, accounted for 52 percent of
all new car sales last year in Norway against 40 percent in
2016.
OFV chief Oeyvind Solberg Thorsen said: "No one else is close in terms of a national share of
electric cars. For the
first time we have a fossil-fuel market share below 50 percent."
Norway exempts new electric cars from almost all taxes and
grants perks that can be worth thousands of euros a year in
terms of free or subsidised parking, re-charging and use of toll
roads, ferries and tunnels. It also generates almost all its electricity from
hydropower, so the shift helps to reduce air pollution and
climate change.
Way ahead
In 2017 the International Energy Agency said
Norway was far ahead of other nations such as the Netherlands,
Sweden, China, France and Britain in electric car sales.
By the IEA yardstick, which excludes hybrid cars with only a
small electric motor that cannot be plugged in, electric car
sales in Norway rose to 39 percent in 2017 from 29 percent in 2016, when
the Netherlands was in second on 6.4 percent.
Norwegian car sales in 2017 were topped by the Volkswagen
Golf, BMWi3, Toyota Rav4 and
Tesla Model X. The Tesla is pure electric and others
have electric or hybrid versions.
In many countries, high prices of battery-driven cars,
limited ranges between recharging and long charging times
discourage buyers. Car makers say the disadvantages are
dwindling over time with new models.
A BMW spokesman said: "We view Norway as a role model for how electric mobility
can be promoted through smart incentives; the situation would probably be different if
these incentives were dropped."
Other "good examples" of policies to spur electric-car
demand included Britain, California and the Netherlands, he said.
Zero goal
In 2017 Norway's parliament set a non-binding goal that
by 2025 all cars sold should be zero emissions. Among other
nations, France and Britain plan to ban sales of petrol and
diesel cars by 2040.
Christina Bu, head of the Norwegian Electric Vehicle
Association which represents owners, said the 2025 goal meant
that Norway should stick with its incentives for electric cars.
"It's an ambitious goal only seven years away," she said. Overall, sales of zero emissions cars in Norway rose in
2017 to 21 percent from 16 in 2016.
Electric cars have widespread support among Norway's 5.3
million people. A 2017 plan by the right-wing government to
trim electric car incentives, dubbed a "Tesla Tax", was dropped
in negotiations on the 2018 budget.
A hard act to follow
Sales of diesel cars fell most in 2017, to 23 percent from
31 in 2016. Some regions in Norway have started to charge higher
road tolls for diesel cars than for petrol-driven vehicles.
Norway's electric car policies are hard to imitate. Norway
can be generous because high revenues from oil and gas
production have helped it amass the world's biggest sovereign
wealth fund, worth the equivalent of R12.3 trillion.
Illustrating the supportive benefits, a Volkswagen e-Golf
electric car sells for 262 000 Norwegian Krone (R399 000) in Norway, just
fractionally above the import price of Kr260 000 (R396 000), according to the
Norwegian Electric Vehicle Association.
But a comparable petrol-powered Golf, which costs Kr180 000 (R274 000) to import, ends up selling for Kr298 000 (R454 000) after charges including value added tax, carbon tax, and another
tax based on the weight of the vehicle.