In Norway, electric and hybrid cars account for 52 per cent of new registrations in 2017. The Scandinavian country is drawing ever closer to its 2025 target, when a ban on petrol and diesel vehicles will come into force.
Purchase incentives and tax breaks (no VAT or import duty), reduced road tax, free or discounted parking, exemption from congestion charges and motorway tolls, free ferry crossings, the ability to use bus lanes during peak hours, and a certain environmental awareness among citizens: this is how Norway has achieved a historic record — the point at which sales of sustainable cars have overtaken those of traditional models.
According to data provided by the Norwegian Road Federation (OFV), in 2017 the share of electric and hybrid cars reached 52 per cent of new registrations (in 2016 it was 40 per cent), while sales of diesel models collapsed by 23 per cent. Fully electric cars and hydrogen-powered vehicles, which produce zero emissions, accounted in particular for 20.9 per cent of total sales. Among the best-selling green models is the Toyota RAV4, the hybrid SUV that delivers the lowest emissions and best fuel economy in its class (up to 20 km per litre).
In light of these car sales figures, the Scandinavian country's goal of banning diesel and petrol cars by 2025 looks increasingly achievable, despite being far more ambitious than the targets set by other countries such as France and England, which have given themselves more time by setting their deadline at 2040. In the meantime, the government is continuing to expand the charging point network, which last summer had already proved insufficient to meet the exponential growth in the uptake of electric cars.
It should be noted, however, that it is thanks to the country's wealth that all the concessions and incentives for sustainable cars can be sustained — wealth that derives largely from oil, through the ownership of the world's largest sovereign wealth fund, worth one trillion dollars (even though Norway has recently been moving towards other forms of investment). In any case, the Norwegian government is already grappling with the loss of tax revenue resulting from these concessions, and some have already proposed reducing them. So far that has not happened, but remedial action may be needed in the future.