this post was submitted on 29 Jan 2025
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Summary

Norway is on track to become the first country to eliminate gasoline and diesel cars from new car sales, with EVs making up over 96% of recent purchases.

Decades of incentives, including tax breaks and infrastructure investments, have driven this shift.

Officials see EV adoption as a “new normal” and aim for electric city buses by 2025.

While other countries lag behind, Norway's success demonstrates the potential for widespread EV adoption.

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[–] nutsack@lemmy.world 1 points 11 minutes ago

it's very cool to not drive in that country because you don't need to and you wouldn't because you're not fat

[–] lipilee@feddit.nl 2 points 16 hours ago (1 children)

and, shocker, it was even less than "less than 1%" before electric cars were invented!

[–] tyler@programming.dev 1 points 3 minutes ago

electric cars were invented in the 1830s.. They're literally older than gas vehicles.

[–] Gammelfisch@lemmy.world 17 points 1 day ago

Norway progresses while the USA regresses going full fucking 3rd World with Orange Nero.

Really? No~r~ Way!

~(sorry~ ~for~ ~the~ ~terrible~ ~joke~ ~lol)~

[–] superkret@feddit.org 27 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Has no one told them that EVs don't work when it's cold?

/s

[–] nonfuinoncuro@lemm.ee 18 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I swear all my coworkers keep asking what I'm going to do when my battery dies in the cold smfh

and even my wife still has range anxiety despite traveling half of I-95 multiple times

[–] refreeze@lemmy.world 9 points 1 day ago (2 children)

This was such a big worry of mine, but I'm only down 12% average versus the summer and I live in Canada.

[–] CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org 4 points 9 hours ago* (last edited 9 hours ago)

Also, solar panels are worse for the environment than burning fossil fuels for 20 years and windmills make everyone nearby sick because they spin and disturb the atmosphere.

Literally things I've heard IRL in oil country from people who, clearly, went looking for a personally affirming worldview.

[–] nonfuinoncuro@lemm.ee 10 points 1 day ago

yeah on a recent trip it went from like 2.8 mi/kw to 2.3 mi/kw as the weather went from above to below 0 C but the way you hear some people tell it if the snow falls you'll be stranded at work and won't be able to drive ten miles home 😑

[–] nogooduser@lemmy.world 79 points 1 day ago (1 children)

While other countries lag behind, Norway's success demonstrates the potential for widespread EV adoption.

Decades of incentives, including tax breaks and infrastructure investments, have driven this shift.

Basically, if your government really wants it and doesn’t give in to lobbying then they can do it.

It’s many years of concerted effort with successive administrations keeping up the commitment.

Our 2024 figure for % of new cars being electric was 19.6% in the UK so I’d be very surprised if we hit the 2030 target of 80% new cars sold being zero emission.

[–] oce@jlai.lu 37 points 1 day ago (3 children)

Geology and geography are also helping a lot.

Norway is also a very wealthy nation, which thanks to its huge oil and gas exports, has a sovereign wealth fund worth more than $1.7tn (£1.3tn). This means it can more easily afford big infrastructure-build projects, and absorb the loss of tax revenue from the sale of petrol and diesel cars and their fuel.

The country also has an abundance of renewable hydro electricity, which accounts for 88% of its production capacity. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cg52543v6rmo

[–] Kecessa@sh.itjust.works 12 points 1 day ago (1 children)

They don't withdraw much from that fund though and have an annual ceiling of 3% of its value, they still pay a good amount of taxes (22% on income, 25% sales tax). Blaming the oil fund just shows how lacking other countries management is.

[–] JohnEdwa@sopuli.xyz 2 points 18 hours ago* (last edited 18 hours ago) (2 children)

They don't withdraw a lot, but having it means they don't have a need to tax all the things just in case either and they can take a hit today to plan for a better future. That is to say, EVs in Norway are exempt from vehicle taxes, import duties, registration fees and get all kinds of other benefits too making them way cheaper in comparison to ICE cars.

That fund has something like $200 000 per Norwegian in it.

[–] Kecessa@sh.itjust.works 5 points 17 hours ago (1 children)

Most things have a 25% sales tax on them + 22% flat rate for income tax. How much taxes are billionaires paying in the US?

Again, blame the fund all you want, in the end the problem is other countries not jumping at the opportunities presented to them to build a similar fund.

It was inspired by Alberta's heritage fund (which obviously existed before Norway's), Alberta has a much bigger oil reserve and has extracted way more oil than Norway. How much do they have in their version of the fund? Less than CAD $30B. Instead of investing for the future they decided to cut all sales taxes and to lower income taxes as much as they realistically could while still offering public services.

The same logic can apply to any government that has natural resources to manage and decides not to nationalize it to invest for the future.

[–] JohnEdwa@sopuli.xyz 2 points 17 hours ago

No clue, I'm from Finland where our VAT is 25.5%, income tax is higher than in Norway, and our vehicles are some of the most expensive, and also the oldest, in Europe :)

[–] Bronzie@sh.itjust.works 1 points 16 hours ago

Close.

Every NOK over 500k is now with VAT. They changed it last year.

The selection under 500k is still quite good, so I’m not gonna pretend the deal is horrible, and you only pay on the amount over, so a 600k car is still artificially cheap compared to most places.

[–] DrunkenPirate@feddit.org 26 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Yepp, it’s odd to celebrate the milestone to emobility if one knows it’s paid all by carving carbon out of the earth. The goal of Emobility is to reduce carbon emissions - as far as I know.

[–] partial_accumen@lemmy.world 3 points 11 hours ago* (last edited 11 hours ago) (1 children)

Yepp, it’s odd to celebrate the milestone to emobility if one knows it’s paid all by carving carbon out of the earth.

A nation converting nearly 100% to EV means less carbon needing to be carved out of the Earth going forward. How is that not something to celebrate for those that like less carbon being carved out of the Earth?

[–] DrunkenPirate@feddit.org -1 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

Because this very nation makes tons of money by selling oil and gaz (carbon emissions)

Same joke if Saudi Arabia would go 100% emobility and keeps selling oil (carbon emissions)

[–] partial_accumen@lemmy.world 2 points 10 hours ago (1 children)

Are you saying you would prefer they sell tons oil and gas (carbon emissions), as well as have their nation producing even more carbon emissions from ICE vehicle tailpipes? That seems to contradict your desire to have fewer carbon emissions.

[–] DrunkenPirate@feddit.org 1 points 14 minutes ago (1 children)
[–] partial_accumen@lemmy.world 1 points 8 minutes ago

There only appears to be two realistic choices, and I've enumerated them both. Feel free to clarify your position then.

[–] ironsoap@lemmy.one 17 points 1 day ago (3 children)

I'm not saying they aren't downplaying it, but it's also a population of 5.5 million of highly educated and high per capita income, which makes easier to implement. Small population and people who can afford it.

[–] AA5B@lemmy.world 15 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (3 children)

Maybe but so far in the us, it’s not the large population or lack of affordability blocking EV adoption, as much as politics, conservative backlash, Facebook science, outrage culture. If we could put aside our toxicity, spite, narcissism, and come together for a better future, we could be pretty far down that road too

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[–] Kecessa@sh.itjust.works 17 points 1 day ago

Meanwhile our Premier just floated the idea to delay the ban on gas car sales... Fun how a new president in the neighboring country makes us give up on our emission goals...

[–] 9488fcea02a9@sh.itjust.works 21 points 1 day ago

Norway: don't get high on your own supply...

[–] Korbs@lemmy.sudovanilla.org 5 points 1 day ago

I remember using Google Street View in Norway, every single corner you turn...there's an EV!

[–] lnxtx@feddit.nl 9 points 1 day ago (3 children)

But did they stopped exporting oil and gas? ~/s~

[–] Lootboblin@lemmy.world 5 points 19 hours ago* (last edited 19 hours ago) (1 children)

Crude oil and natural gas amount to 62% of the total value of Norway’s exports of goods in 2023.

https://www.norskpetroleum.no/en/production-and-exports/exports-of-oil-and-gas/

[–] Spacehooks@reddthat.com 4 points 19 hours ago

Norway selling their trash

[–] vodka@lemm.ee 17 points 1 day ago

But that's emissions outside of our environment so that's fine, no worries.

Please Europe keep buying our natural gas at record prices.

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