Climate Change Daily Vid Oct 20 2017:Norway has made electric cars irresistible

In the first three months of 2016, Norway registered 11,124 pure electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), representing 24.4 percent of all new vehicles. The reason isn’t because Norwegians care more about the environment than anyone else. The reason is, of course, money. Essentially, Norwegians have been financially incentivised by their government to buy electric cars over the previous decade, at a cost to the state of tens of thousands of kroner per car.

State subsidies, intended to promote a less polluting form of travel and cut greenhouse gas emissions, help bring the price of buying the top-selling electric Nissan Leaf in Norway down to 240,690 kr, which is competitive with similarly powered petrol cars. In addition to these benefits, commuters driving into Oslo from the surrounding areas save up to 10,000 kr in road tolls over the course of the year, and get free parking which is also worth thousands of kroner per year.