Norway becomes' laboratory 'for new energy car development

Tesla,the world's largest electric car brand,has announced plans to build Europe's largest"supercharging station"in Norway this year,capable of charging up to 42 electric cars at once.Charging stations are being sited along highways to provide power for long-distance electric cars.In fact,Tesla is only one of the"players"in Norway's electric vehicle market.As the country with the highest number of electric vehicles per capita in the world,Norway's car market has become the arena for competition among several major electric vehicle brands in the world.Norwegians even call their country the"laboratory"for the development of electric vehicles in the world.

Norway has been a major market for electric car makers in Europe

Don't be surprised if a Tesla picks you up in Norway.Electric cars of all kinds can be seen on the streets of Oslo,Norway's capital.Public parking lots in downtown Oslo have their own parking Spaces for electric cars equipped with charging devices and are distinguished from ordinary parking Spaces by eye-catching green signs.The Norwegian government has exempted electric cars from paying parking fees and fined regular cars for occupying electric car parking Spaces.

Norway has been a major market for major automakers in Europe because of a well-developed electric vehicle policy.In 2016,Tesla alone delivered more than 10,000 electric cars to Norway.In order to enhance its market competitiveness and consolidate its position in Norway,Tesla has announced that it will expand its network of"super charging piles"in Norway.The project of the largest"super charging stations"in Europe is part of Tesla's strategy in Norway.However,Tesla is only third in Norway's electric car market,with Nissan And Volkswagen taking the top two spots.

Since 2009,Norway has adjusted its domestic electric vehicle development strategy and started to import foreign models on a large scale.Nissan then moved into Norway,becoming one of the first players in the Norwegian electric car market.Since then,Nissan seized the first-mover advantage and quickly grabbed the market in Norway.Its main model has been among the top three most popular models in Norway for many years.

Volkswagen is also a strong competitor in Norway's electric vehicle market,and its success in Norway is closely related to its global strategy of developing electric vehicles.According to the new development strategy released by Volkswagen in 2025,the company will increase the proportion of electric vehicle sales to 25%and develop 30 new energy models.

The government has implemented the world's most generous incentives for electric cars

Data from the Norwegian Electric Vehicle Association in September showed that 60%of the latest vehicles sold in Norway were electric.The reason why electric vehicles are widely recognized and accepted in Norway is closely related to the comprehensive development strategy of electric vehicles formulated by the government,specific national conditions and residents'consumption habits.It is the result of the joint action of many factors.

As early as 1970,Norway began to develop the electric vehicle industry.Later,as the government paid more and more attention to the issue of greenhouse gas emission reduction,a series of policies were successively introduced to support the development of electric vehicle industry.In 2009,Norway established the Transportation and Energy Administration,which is responsible for the formulation and implementation of energy conservation and emission reduction policies in the transportation sector.The administration has built infrastructure for electric vehicles and built thousands of public charging facilities throughout Norway.

The Norwegian government has one of the world's most generous incentives for electric cars,which run through the purchase,use and services of electric vehicles.In car sales,the Norwegian government has made it possible for electric car companies to offer more attractive prices to Norwegian consumers through tax breaks.Take Tesla as an example.The price difference between Norway and neighboring Sweden for the same model can be as much as RMB 100,000.Since 1991,Norway has exempted evs from registration tax.Since then,it has introduced a number of incentive policies to strengthen the support for the ev industry,including waiving toll fees for evs,free ferry tickets,free use of bus lanes for private evs,and free parking in all public parking lots.

In addition,easy and accessible charging is a prerequisite for the rapid development of electric vehicles in the Norwegian car market.Some 66%of electric-car owners in Norway,a sparsely populated country,can afford to charge their vehicles in their own homes or in their apartment buildings.Others,who live in shared apartment buildings and cannot afford to build their own home chargers,can go to nearby public parking lots to park and charge their batteries.Moreover,compared with fuel price,relatively low electricity price can further reduce the use cost of electric vehicles.Norway has rich hydropower resources and electricity prices are well below the European average.Estimates show that the fuel cost per kilometer of a regular gasoline car is 3.5 times that of an electric car.

Environmental awareness among residents is another important factor in the popularity of electric cars in Norway.A previous survey of electric car buyers in Norway on their spending habits showed that a quarter of respondents said they bought electric cars for environmental reasons,while 20 percent were members of environmental groups.

With all the policies,facilities and services in place,driving an electric car in Norway is obviously a great experience.Ninety-nine percent of Norwegian electric car owners surveyed said their experience was"satisfied"or"very satisfied,"and 74 percent said they would choose an electric car next time they buy one.

The car giants are pressing ahead with the"electricity-driven"industrial revolution

With the increasing awareness of environmental protection around the world,more and more governments have made reducing greenhouse gas emissions one of their policy goals.In addition to Norway,a number of European countries have also put forward the"zero emission"vision,the UK government announced that the sale of petrol and diesel cars will be banned from 2040,and France is planning to ban diesel engines in the capital Paris from 2020.In some cities of China,the difficulty of vehicle registration is also directly related to the type of vehicle.

In recent years,the electric vehicle industry has mushroomed all over the world and is gradually showing the trend of replacing the internal combustion engine vehicles.Some experts and scholars believe that electric vehicles will join with emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence in the"third industrial revolution".

At present,international auto giants are scrambling to transform to electric cars and realize the industrial revolution of"replacing oil with electricity".Volvo has announced that it will no longer produce pure internal combustion engines in 2019,and plans to launch five pure electric cars and several electric hybrids between 2019 and 2021.The decision makes Volvo the first manufacturer to plan to phase out cars with purely internal combustion engines.Mercedes has also announced that it will stop selling conventional fuel cars by 2022,and will only offer electric and hybrid cars in the future.

Toyota,a Japanese carmaker that had previously focused on hybrid vehicles,set up a pure electric vehicle design and development department in November 2016 under the direct responsibility of its chairman,Akio Toyoda,and plans to build a pure electric vehicle production system and launch an electric version of its sport utility vehicle by 2020.

Ford Motor Company has announced plans to invest$4.5 billion over the next five years to develop new energy vehicles and launch 13 new energy vehicles by 2020.

At the beginning of the development of electric vehicles,the high manufacturing cost,unsatisfactory endurance and the lack of relevant supporting facilities discouraged the majority of consumers from electric vehicles.Today,advances in science and technology have given new life to electric cars.In the field of electric vehicle lithium battery,a large amount of research and development resources investment has set off a technological revolution,vehicle-mounted lithium battery performance is constantly improving,but the cost is falling.Bloomberg estimates that the price of batteries,which account for half of the cost of an electric car,will fall by 77 percent by 2030,meaning electric cars will be more competitively priced.In addition,encouraged by the policies of governments around the world,the energy supply system of electric vehicles is developing towards the direction of fast,efficient and comprehensive coverage.Electric cars are no longer a distant dream to replace internal combustion engines.The future is knocking at the door.