EVs' growing success in Norway is partly due to governmental policies. Norway offers VAT cuts for electric vehicles, making them cheaper than ICE or hybrid cars. As of 2022, an average of 20,360 U.S. dollars were subsidized for EV purchases in the country, compared to 1,157 U.S. dollars in China and 7,500 U.S. dollars in the United States. Additionally, the government supports a shift toward shared e-scooter services, and public bus fleets are progressively electric-powered. E-mobility can burden the national electricity grid, but Norway boasts a robust renewable electricity industry. Primarily supplied by hydroelectric, Norway's grid has so far coped with EVs' increasing hunger for electricity.
Investments in electric vehicles' success
Norway's national government established incentives for electric vehicle purchases in the 1990s. However, it was not until 2016 that the battery-electric vehicle market exploded. That year, the government set the target of phasing out new fossil-fuel light vehicles by 2025. Between 2017 and 2022, the electric vehicle fleet more than tripled. The world's most extensive electric vehicle subsidies drove this success. In 2022, purchasing a small electric vehicle received average financial benefits of 14,500 U.S. dollars, which climbed to some 27,000 U.S. dollars for large EVs. Electric cars were further boosted by economic benefits for vehicles in operation of an estimated 109 U.S. dollars per annum. Policy instruments included free parking, bus lane access, tax reduction, and toll exemption. However, Norway's unparalleled EV subsidies were rolled back in January 2023 to promote active mobility. VAT exemptions were replaced by a new dynamic VAT scheme in which the most expensive EVs will incur higher VAT fees. The country will therefore have to rely on other aspects of the EV market to keep boosting sales to reach its 2025 goal.One of these aspects is charging infrastructure accessibility. To cope with the orchestrated growth of battery electric vehicle ownership, the government had to make charging points accessible and widely distributed. Between 2015 and 2022, the number of publicly accessible chargers grew by over 335 percent to around 24,100 units. However, while Norway has considerably scaled its EV charging network, it faces similar challenges to other European countries. Standard type 2 chargers were the most common public charger connector type in the country in 2022. These alternating current chargers tend to be slower than direct current chargers, as the electricity then needs to be transformed into direct current by electric vehicles' onboard charger. Furthermore, as Norway invests in its public charging infrastructure, some counties are left behind in Norway's electrification. Viken, the Norwegian county with the most extensive charging network, had over thirteen times more public charging points than Troms of Finnmark, the county with the smallest charging network.