Norway's E-Cars

Norway has a generous subsidy for the purchase of electric cars. A diesel car costs more than a electric car due to the 25% sales tax and the registration tax that an electric car will be exempt from. Furthermore, drivers of electric cars will not have to pay expensive parking fees and tolls. This has spurred Norwegian residents to buy electric cars one out of five times this year (2015). By September this year, there were 66,000 all-electric cars on the roads of Norway. Many critics of the program do not see enough benefits to justify the costs. Anders Skonhoft, economist at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, claims that this program only cuts carbon dioxide emission by 0.1%. On the other hand Christina Bu, the head of Norwegian Electric Vehicle Association, believes that “if we can continue like this until 2020, we will change the car industry,” suggesting that demand for electric cars would increase by the time the program will end.

Source: David Jolly of the New York Times (10/19/15)