Driving in EV-Friendly Norway is Like Looking Into Our Future

upstart writes:

Driving in EV-Friendly Norway is Like Looking Into Our Future:

Traveling through Scandinavia feels like visiting the future in a lot of ways. OK, it's a future with a lot more open space and a lot less cultural diversity than what the real future holds, but a spin through Norway is a pretty interesting trip just the same. Wandering around Oslo, you're struck by stunning architecture at every turn and statues that not only highlight public squares but sprout from the very sea in unexpected spots.

But, being a transportation nerd, it was the means of mobility that really struck me. For one thing, bikes and cars and scooters all seem to coexist in Oslo more peacefully than just about anywhere else on the planet. Buses are easy to ride, with tickets purchased from your phone in an instant avoiding any awkward exchanges with drivers.

And then there are the EVs. So. Many. EVs. An amazing number of the things festoon the roads in Norway, enough to constantly surprise and delight me, despite this being my third trip to the city. Even in just the past few years, battery-powered motoring in Norway has really gone mainstream.

How mainstream? In March this year, 16,238 passenger cars were registered in Norway. Of those, 13,983 were battery-electric vehicles. That's an amazing 86% of all cars registered that month. Meanwhile in the US, according to the Argonne National Laboratory, sales of light-duty vehicles with plugs (including hybrids) made up just 5.85% of the market in March. That was nearly a 40% increase over the previous year, but still floundering in the single digits.

Why the disparity? Is Norway just a utopia of forward-thinking EV zealots? Not exactly. Where state and federal governments in the US have engaged in a haphazard collection of half-assed, confusing incentives to spur EV adoption, scattering a middling collection of carrots here and there over the years, the Norwegian government has instead chosen the biggest of sticks: taxes. Want to buy a gas-powered machine? Be prepared for a painful whack.

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