Norway powers ahead in switch to electric vehicles

DW (English)

The switch from combustion engine cars to electric vehicles is seen as key for fighting climate change. While many countries, including Germany, are struggling during the tranformation, Norway, shows that it can be done.

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00:00In 2024, 9 out of 10 new cars sold in Norway were powered by battery only.

00:07It's a record for the country, as official registration data shows.

00:11The Scandinavian country, it seems, is well on its way towards only adding electric-powered cars by 2025.

00:18The country succeeds thanks to consistent policies embraced by all major political parties.

00:24They penalize petrol and diesel cars with high taxes, while supporting EVs.

00:29In other countries, you see that someone put in some incentives or some tax exemptions, and then they pull them back again.

00:35To do this and to sort of succeed with this, you need to sort of keep at it for a long enough time.

00:42And it's working. And I think the recipe that Norway has used, it's definitely transferable to other countries as well.

00:55Consistency is key, as it helps customers adjust their habits.

00:59Another factor, the charging infrastructure.

01:02There is already no shortage of charging stations in Norway, but the system keeps growing.

01:08Well, we still have more pumps than we have chargers.

01:11But as we see, there are coming more and more electrical cars into the market in Norway.

01:16Today, about 30 percent of all the light-duty vehicles are electrical.

01:20In just a couple of years, more than 50 percent of all the cars in the Norwegian market will be electrical.

01:29And of course, we have to ramp up our charging park according to that.

01:34Especially young people are keen on making the switch.

01:38I changed to an electrical car because of the environment.

01:45It's better for the environment and the smell of diesel and cars on fuel.

01:55Turns out, most Norwegians are on board with fully electric mobility.

02:00Ironically, what keeps at least some combustion engine cars on Norway's roads are foreigners.

02:07Some fleet customers are maybe the biggest buyers, like rental car companies, having tourists coming into Norway.

02:13They are not familiar with the e-car technology.

02:16Then they need to offer them traditional cars so that they can go on the journey.

02:23Outside the tourist sector, car dealers are fully charged to embrace an all-electric future.

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