Will Norway Be the First to Go All-Electric?
Hannah DeWitt
· 3 min read
The race to switch to
electric vehicles
(EVs) is ongoing around the world. Many governments have created their own deadlines for when they plan to ban the sale of gas cars, but one country seems to be ahead of the pack.Norway has seen a consistent downward trend for gas car sales, and their goal to sell only EVs might happen sooner than 2025. According to
Electrek
, Norway could reach that goal sometime next year.
Norway’s gas car ban could happen sooner than 2025
Norway has already set one of the most aggressive goals around EV sales. Their plan to phase out gas cars by 2025 has all other countries beat. Norwegian gas car sales are seeing such a sharp decrease that they could potentially achieve that goal by April 2022.
This is leagues ahead of the U.S., which plans to reduce gas car sales by only 50% by the year 2030. Many countries are worried that their existing infrastructure won’t be able to support widespread EV adoption.
It’s hard to secure funds for EV infrastructure since it’s not clear how popular EVs will be. However, too much hesitation from policymakers and car manufacturers will make EVs less effective for combating climate change.
Norway’s EV infrastructure expanded as its EV sales increased. This works both ways, since improving infrastructure and increasing charging stations will make consumers more comfortable switching to electric.
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How did EVs take over the Norwegian market?
MORE: Where Will the Electricity for Electric Cars Come From?
Recently, there’s been a steady decrease in non-electric car sales. Gas cars made up 21% of new car sales in 2020 and less than 10% this year. This data counts hybrids as electric cars despite their gas components, but it likely won’t have a big impact on Norway’s emissions goals. Conventional hybrids only account for 10% of new car purchases.
Electrek said that 14 out of 15 best-selling cars in Norway are electric, with one Toyota hybrid in the mix at the number two spot.
Norway managed to attain these staggering statistics partially through tax incentives. The government placed a heavy tax on gas-powered vehicles, which EVs are exempt from.
They also established benefits like free parking and toll road access for EVs, though those have both been discontinued. All of these programs helped get the ball rolling, and increased EV adoption seems to be a continuing trend.
Will Norway completely phase out gas car sales next year?
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Despite these promising numbers, it’s unlikely that Norway will be able to completely ban the sale of gas cars by next year. In any case, there will be stragglers that are behind the times, both in terms of dealers and buyers.
However, Norway could get very close to phasing out gas cars completely very soon. For the time being, it looks like Norway’s gas car market is quickly vanishing.
Norway’s new EV infrastructure will support more EVs on the road and make it harder to drive gas cars. Gas pumps are becoming more rare and many are being replaced by chargers.
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