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Tuesday, April 2nd, 2019

Tesla boom lifts Norway’s electric car sales to record market share

Author:     Lefteris Karagiannopoulos and Terje Solsvik
Source:     Reuters
Publication Date:     APRIL 1, 2019 / 5:49 AM
 Link: Tesla boom lifts Norway’s electric car sales to record market share
Stephan:   Norway is a country where social wellbeing is a guiding principle for government, in contrast to the United States where profit is the only social priority. As a result Norway has a healthy middle-class that on average has a higher income than their American peers, lower taxes, universal single-payer healthcare, and free or modestly priced education K through university.  Is it surprising then that the people of Norway are embracing non-carbon powered transportation? Consider: "Cars that rely solely on internal combustion engines with no hybrid electric unit had a market share of only 22.7 percent in March, the lowest on record." This is what a healthy democracy looks like, and frankly I am envious.  

Norwegian charging station

OSLO, NORWAY — Almost 60 percent of all new cars sold in Norway in March were fully electric, the Norwegian Road Federation (NRF) said on Monday, a global record as the country seeks to end fossil-fueled vehicles sales by 2025.

Exempting battery engines from taxes imposed on diesel and petrol cars has upended Norway’s auto market, elevating brands like Tesla and Nissan, with its Leaf model, while hurting sales of Toyota, Daimler and others.

In 2018, Norway’s fully electric car sales rose to a record 31.2 percent market share from 20.8 percent in 2017, far ahead of any other nation, and buyers had to wait as producers struggled to keep up with demand.

The surge of electric cars to a 58.4 percent market share in March came as Tesla ramped up delivery of its mid-sized Model 3, which retails from 442,000 crowns ($51,400), while Audi began deliveries of its 652,000-crowns e-tron sports utility vehicle.

The sales figures consolidate Norway’s global lead in electric car sales per capita, part of an attempt by Western Europe’s […]

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