Efforts are being made all over the world to reduce dependence on petrol and diesel. Electric vehicles are considered the best option to achieve this goal. Many countries in the world have come forward to promote the use of electric vehicles. In India, the government also provides subsidies for the purchase of electric vehicles, etc. But currently the number of electric vehicles in countries such as India is limited. But Norway has become the first country in the world where the number of electric vehicles exceeds the existing gasoline vehicles.
According to vehicle registration data released by the Norwegian Road Federation, there has been a significant increase in the number of electric vehicles in Norway. The Norwegian Road Federation said in a statement that of the 2.8 million private passenger cars registered in the Nordic country, 7,54,303 are fully electric. The number of petrol cars is 7,53,905. Apart from this, the registration of diesel-run vehicles is also the lowest.
“This is a historic moment,” said Øyvind Solberg Thorsen, president of the federation. “Ten years ago few would have thought that the number of electric cars would outnumber gasoline and diesel cars.” Norway, a major producer of oil and gas, has set a goal of selling zero-emission cars by 2025. In August last year, the proportion of electric cars among new cars registered in Norway reached a record high of 94.3%.
How this miracle happened:
Norway laid the foundation for this success many years ago. Since the early 1990s, the local government and local people have understood that electric vehicles are the future. In this context, the Norwegian Parliament has set a national goal that all new cars sold should be zero-emission (electric or hydrogen) by 2025. By the end of 2022, more than 20% of cars registered in Norway are fully electric (BEV). The market share of BEVs in 2022 is 79.2%.
Many countries around the world are developing plans to promote the use of electric vehicles. But in this country of 5.5 million people, the government and people’s perception of electric vehicles is different from other countries. The government has introduced many new plans to encourage electric vehicles, which not only makes buying an electric car affordable and easy, but also greatly reduces its daily running costs. Various exemptions are given for this purpose.
Taxation Policy:
The biggest work in promoting electric vehicles is to tax them. The Norwegian government has decided to impose higher taxes on high-emission vehicles and lower taxes on low-emission and zero-emission vehicles. Henceforth, electric vehicles priced up to NOK 500,000 (approximately Rs. 40 lakh) will be exempt from VAT. Also, for vehicles priced over NOK 500,000, only the excess amount will be subject to 25% VAT.
Exemption from import duties:
Not only that, Norway does not impose purchase and import taxes on electric vehicles from 1990 to 2022. As a result, buying electric vehicles imported from abroad has also become a burden for locals. Let us tell you that there is a huge demand for Tesla electric vehicles here. In addition to this, local electric vehicle manufacturers have also received preferential treatment for vehicle manufacturing for many years.
Other exemptions include:
In addition to VAT and import taxes, electric cars were exempt from toll road charges in Norway from 1997 to 2017. In addition, special discounts have been offered over the years to attract people to buy electric cars. People are encouraged to use electric cars through free municipal parking for electric cars and the use of electric cars in bus lanes.
Significant work on charging infrastructure:
Range and charging infrastructure are the biggest concerns for all electric car owners. But the Norwegian government has done a lot in this regard, laying a huge electric car charging network across the country. Legislation stipulates that people living in apartment buildings have a “right to charge” between 2017 and 2021.
Even if electric car owners charge at home every day and manage without fast charging, they still think it is important to have the option of fast charging when needed. For long-distance travel, it is very important to have a better charging network. Fast charging stations have been installed on all major roads in Norway.
Consumers were willing to pay more for fast charging services, but initially most areas offered free charging. This was available even over the shortest distances. More than 2,000 charging stations were installed in Oslo alone. This boosted confidence in electric vehicles, and people adopted it quickly.
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