Charging ahead
In most countries, EVs are the future. In Norway, they are very much the present. Last year, nearly 4 of every 5 new cars sold in the country were fully electric — and the effects of that are now coming into view as the nation edges ever-nearer to its 2025 deadline for outlawing all gas-powered vehicles.
Indeed, a recent New York Times long read on Norway’s EV revolution points to the positive impact the movement is having on the nation’s capital, where the air is “measurably cleaner” and greenhouse gas emissions are down 30% since 2009.
Going elektrisk
Norway’s government has been pushing electrification for decades, from subsidizing the construction of its vast charging network to enacting policies like tax exemptions and reductions for zero-emission vehicles. Though policy makers are now reportedly looking to curb the many benefits, they’ve been pivotal in helping the nation of 5.5 million achieve the highest proportion of EVs anywhere in the world.
The popularity of electric cars compared to gas-guzzling counterparts has really started to accelerate in the last decade. In 2012, just 3% of new cars sold in Norway were fully-electric, in 2022 that figure sat at 79%, up 14% even on the year before. Joe Biden’s goal is to see EVs make up more than half of US new car sales by 2030, a milestone that Norway passed in 2019.
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