Electric Vehicles In Norway Research Articles

Simulating the effects of tax exemptions for plug-in electric vehicles in Norway

For many years Norway has been in the forefront of promoting electromobility. Today, Norway has the world’s highest per capita fleet of plug-in electric cars. In 2021, 1.6% of the cars in the EU fleet were plug-in electric vehicles, whereas their share was 21% in Norway. Part of the successful market take-up rate is due to wide-ranging tax exemptions. Increasing plug-in electric vehicles numbers causes tax revenue losses, making exemptions unsustainable. Norway has the ambitious goal that from 2025, all newly registered cars shall be zero-emission vehicles. Keeping tax exemptions in place might be crucial for this goal. The objective of this paper is to provide information to solve this dilemma. Tax exemption reduction and abolition paths which offer a compromise between minimal effects on the development of zero-emission vehicles and tax revenues have been identified. An updated and re-calibrated version of the stock-flow-model SERAPIS was used to simulate and assess different scenarios. Results show that a controlled tax phase-in allows Norway to reach its environmental targets of 100% zero emission vehicles by 2025 and a 55% decrease of CO2-emissions in 2030 relative to 2005 while simultaneously increasing public revenues significantly.

Retrospective Total cost of ownership analysis of battery electric vehicles in Norway

• Purchase incentives and local incentives made battery electric vehicles competitive. • Total cost of ownership was from 2012 lower than for 3-year old gasoline vehicles. • Battery electric vehicles became from 2012 economic to own for multivehicle owners. • Sales increased with model availability from 2012 as incentives were kept in place. A retrospective Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) analysis of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) versus gasoline vehicles (ICEVs), provided insights on the TCO effects of Norway’s BEV incentives that counts the registration and value added tax exemptions, reductions/exemptions from the annual tax, parking fees, road tolls and ferry rates, and bus lane access. BEVs were according to the TCO calculation too expensive before 2001. A 2001 breakthrough failed when California revised the ZEV-mandate and the Norwegian BEV producer THINK owned by Ford had problems. The TCO has since 2012 been favorable also compared to 3-year old ICEVs. The latter enabled adoption in multi-vehicle households that effortlessly coped with BEVs limited range, through the access to another vehicle for long trips and vacations. BEVs got a good reputation. Adoption targets were revised upwards when old targets were met. The costly incentives became institutionalized and difficult to downscale without hurting the successful market.

Public charging infrastructure and electric vehicles in Norway

We study whether public charging infrastructure drives battery electric vehicle adoption. Our analysis is based on granular, annual information on the location of public charging infrastructure and the battery electric vehicle ownership rate across 356 Norwegian LAU-2 municipalities between 2009 and 2019. We focus on areas in which the first public charging infrastructure was installed in this time period. In these mostly rural areas, the establishment of a first public charging station initiated adoption. We find, on average, an increase of the local electric vehicle ownership rate by 1.5 percentage points or 200% over 5 years. Our results are robust to anticipatory effects. They also remain unaffected from different treatment thresholds: the median number of public chargers in a municipality between 2009 and 2019 or the median density of public charging points per 1000 inhabitants in the same time frame. While we cannot fully rule out reverse effects, we identify public charging infrastructure to serve as a stimulus to the diffusion of battery electric vehicles.

Public Charging Infrastructure and Electric Vehicles in Norway

We study whether public charging infrastructure drives battery electric vehicle adoption. Our analysis is based on granular, annual information on the location of public charging infrastructure and the battery electric vehicle ownership rate across 356 Norwegian LAU-2 municipalities between 2009 and 2019. We focus on areas in which the first public charging infrastructure was installed in this time period. In these mostly rural areas, the establishment of a first public charging station initiated adoption. We find, on average, an increase of the local electric vehicle ownership rate by 1.5 percentage points or 200% over 5 years. Our results are robust to anticipatory effects. They also remain unaffected from different treatment thresholds: the median number of public chargers in a municipality between 2009 and 2019 or the median density of public charging points per 1,000 inhabitants in the same time frame. While we cannot fully rule out reverse effects, we identify public charging infrastructure to serve as a stimulus to the diffusion of battery electric vehicles.

Temporality, consumption, and conflict: exploring user-based injustices in European low-carbon transitions

ABSTRACT The urgency of climate change means that low-carbon transitions are needed in large socio-technical systems such as energy and transportation. These transitions must be rapid, but also fair. An emerging body of evidence suggests that users have important roles in transitions, yet much previous research has examined user involvement while assuming it to be largely a positive force. This goes against a growing amount of evidence within sociotechnical studies that highlight the potentially obstructive or negative role that users may play in transitions and innovation. In this study, we pose a critical question: In what ways may users perpetuate injustices within a transition? To answer this question, we provide conceptual background on energy justice and user adoption of low-carbon energy and mobility technologies. We then analyse users and energy injustices in three low-carbon transitions – solar energy in Germany, electric vehicles in Norway, and smart meters in Great Britain – based on empirical data from interviews, focus groups, and internet forums. Our main contribution is to show how users in low-carbon transitions are not always positively engaged, or even neutral, but can introduce and contribute to inequality and exclusion.

Consumer preferences for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles in Japan

After the successful adoption and deployment of electric vehicles in Norway with the support of generous government-led incentives, several other countries began introducing policy incentives for environmental-friendly vehicles. In light of Japan’s goal of becoming a hydrogen society, this paper examines the preferences of Japanese citizens for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles (HFCVs) through a stated preference discrete choice experiment involving carefully chosen vehicle attributes and incentives. To this end, it uses mixed logit model on the choice scenario data to elicit the behavioral responses. Governmental incentives such as free public parking and free public transport significantly impact the preferences for HFCVs. In terms of socio-demographic characteristics, education and apartment parking remarkably affect the adoption of HFCVs. Although the preference of Japanese consumers for HFCVs is significantly lower than that for conventional vehicles, a well-designed package of policy incentives involving free public parking and public transport can drive Japan’s push for HFCVs in the long run.

Has the popularity of battery electric vehicles in Norway affected total new car sales? A synthetic control method study

ABSTRACT Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) have gained popularity in Norway, chiefly due to generous tax incentives. Using the synthetic control method, we study if BEVs’ popularity has complemented or substituted for conventional new car sales. Comparing Norway with weighed control units from a donor pool of 16 other European countries between 1990 and 2018 as a counterfactual, we find that conventional new car sales since 2011 have fallen steeply in the country. Analyses also indicate that total new car sales have decreased since 2011. We conclude that BEVs substitute for conventional cars and probably even subtract total new car sales. An implication is that tax revenue loss from BEVs is probably higher than previously estimated, and the fleet of cars in Norway is probably older than in the absence of BEVs’ generous tax incentives.

Beyond cost and carbon: The multidimensional co-benefits of low carbon transitions in Europe

The paper explores the myriad potential benefits of four low-carbon transitions beyond those in the environmental or economic domain. Drawn from a rich set of original mixed methods data—across expert interviews, focus groups, and public internet forums—we examine the presumed multidimensional, qualitative co-benefits to nuclear power in France, solar photovoltaics in Germany, electric vehicles in Norway, and smart meters in Great Britain. We catalogue 128 identified prospective co-benefits to these four European low-carbon transitions, 30 for nuclear power, 30 for solar photovoltaic panels, 26 for electric vehicles and 42 for smart meters. Tellingly, 37 of these collective benefits are identified as economic and 14 environmental, but the remaining ones illustrate a broader spectrum of technical benefits (31 in total), social benefits (30 in total) and political benefits (16 in total). After presenting this body of evidence, the paper then discusses these benefits more deeply in terms of complementarity, temporality, scale, actors, and incumbency. We conclude with insights for energy and climate research and policy more broadly.

The role of practical, cognitive and symbolic factors in the successful implementation of battery electric vehicles in Norway

Reducing emissions from privately-owned cars plays a central role in reaching targets for global greenhouse gas emissions. Electrification has been one strategy to meet this goal. Norway has been a forerunner and is today the country with the highest proportion of privately-owned battery electric vehicles (BEVs) in Europe. Thus, studying Norwegian experiences with electric mobility should be useful for those working with the electrification of person transport in other countries. In this paper, we analyze user experiences with different models of BEVs, symbolic dimensions of BEV ownership and use, and the significance of incentives promoting BEVs. We argue that the total package of incentives not only provides instrumental motives to buy BEVs but represents a highly visible, national policy in support of BEVs that has been important for adoption, giving BEVs a symbolic certification as an environmentally sound mobility choice. The paper also points to the way incentives for BEVs have different meaning to different drivers according to BEV model and driving experience. Hence, we stress the importance of not treating BEVs as a homogenous technology when developing policy. We argue that the combination of the economic and symbolic value of incentives, technical and practical dimensions of BEVs and not least growing environmental concerns have fostered the successful introduction of BEVs in Norway. The paper is based on in-depth interviews with different segments of BEV drivers in 2013 and 2015, as well as data from two surveys conducted by the Norwegian Electric Vehicle Association in 2016 and 2017.

The whole systems energy injustice of four European low-carbon transitions

The need for multi-scalar analysis of energy and low-carbon systems is becoming more apparent as a way to assess the holistic socioeconomic and environmental impacts of energy transitions across a variety of scales and lifecycle stages. This paper conducts a whole systems energy justice analysis of four European low-carbon transitions—nuclear power in France, smart meters in Great Britain, electric vehicles in Norway, and solar photovoltaic panels in Germany. It asks: in what ways may each of these transitions result in injustices that extend beyond communities and countries, i.e., across the whole system? It utilizes a mixed-methods research design based on 64 semi-structured research interviews with experts across all four transitions, five public focus groups, and the collection of 58 comments from twelve public internet forums to answer this question. Drawing inductively from these data, the paper identifies and analyzes 44 injustices spread across three spatial scales. Micro scale injustices concern immediate local impacts on family livelihood, community health and the environment. Meso scale injustices include national-scale issues such as rising prices for electricity and gas or unequal access to low-carbon technology. Macro scale injustices include global issues such as the extraction of minerals and metals and the circulation of waste flows. The paper then discusses these collective injustices in terms of their spatiality and temporality, before offering conclusions for energy and climate research and policy.

Decarbonization and its discontents: a critical energy justice perspective on four low-carbon transitions

Low-carbon transitions are often assumed as positive phenomena, because they supposedly reduce carbon emissions, yet without vigilance, there is evidence that they can in fact create new injustices and vulnerabilities, while also failing to address pre-existing structural drivers of injustice in energy markets and the wider socio-economy. With this in mind, we examine four European low-carbon transitions from an unusual normative perspective: that of energy justice. Because a multitude of studies looks at the co-benefits of renewable energy, low-carbon mobility, or climate change mitigation, we instead ask in this paper what are the types of injustices associated with low-carbon transitions? Relatedly, in what ways do low-carbon transitions worsen social risks or vulnerabilities? Lastly, what policies might be deployed to make these transitions more just? We answer these questions by first elaborating an “energy justice” framework consisting of four distinct dimensions—distributive justice (costs and benefits), procedural justice (due process), cosmopolitan justice (global externalities), and recognition justice (vulnerable groups). We then examine four European low-carbon transitions—nuclear power in France, smart meters in Great Britain, electric vehicles in Norway, and solar energy in Germany—through this critical justice lens. In doing so, we draw from original data collected from 64 semi-structured interviews with expert participants as well as five public focus groups and the monitoring of twelve large internet forums. We document 120 distinct energy injustices across these four transitions, including 19 commonly recurring injustices. We aim to show how when low-carbon transitions unfold, deeper injustices related to equity, distribution, and fairness invariably arise.

The combined role of policy and incentives in promoting cost efficient decarbonisation of energy: A case study for biomethane

The levelized cost of energy of biomethane from food waste was assessed at 87 €/MWh, (87 c/L dieselequiv). Allowing for gate fees the incentive required for financial viability was 0.13 €/m3 (13 €/MWh). For context, various successful renewable energy policies were analysed across the EU including photovoltaics and biogas in Germany and electric vehicles in Norway. The schemes were compared with an incentive applied (or required) per tCO2 avoided. For Ireland, this study predicts that biomethane needs a financial subsidy of less than 180 €/tCO2 avoided, while most successful EU systems offer incentivisation levels less than 260 €/tCO2 avoided.In terms of incentives per tCO2 avoided Electric Vehicles (EV) stand out. When including all incentives such as grants and avoided parking costs, EVs can receive a sixteen-fold higher incentive as compared to biomethane based on tCO2 emissions avoided. The rationale for this high incentive and supporting policy is based on the requirement to initiate a new infrastructure that would not otherwise happen without intervention of a government incentivising decarbonised transport and clean air.Biomethane as a transport fuel requires a very significant change in infrastructure, including the provision of compressed natural gas service stations and natural gas vehicles. Initially (as for other successful renewable energy systems) larger incentives would be required to allow initiation of the industry, but these subsidies can be reduced over time. Biomethane as a transport fuel offers similar rewards as for electric vehicles, decarbonised transport and clean air along with energy security, renewable energy, indigenous jobs and supporting greening of agriculture.

Green and gendered? Cultural perspectives on the road towards electric vehicles in Norway

With Norway currently representing one of the few successful electric car markets in the world, our study provides early insights into the emerging electric vehicle culture. In this article, we argue that this culture challenges and modifies previous gendered constructions of cars as well as actual driving practices. When interviewing electric vehicle (EV) owners about the process of buying and owning an EV, we found stereotypical claims of feminine environmentalism and masculine fascination with technology. However, we also observed counter-narratives that destabilise such accounts, reframing the car in more hybrid terms. As a hybrid construction, the EV seems to appeal equally to both women and men, framing their enthusiasm within differently gendered narratives. We also found that owning and using EVs influenced driver identities and actual driving practices. Factors attracting EV users in Norway are many, extending beyond environmental concerns and financial savings. These insights bring crucial nuance to EV user representations and illustrate the significance of cultural inquiries in mobility transitions.

The impact of car specifications, prices and incentives for battery electric vehicles in Norway: Choices of heterogeneous consumers

Electric vehicles (EVs), specifically Battery EVs (BEVs), can offer significant energy and emission savings over internal combustion engine vehicles. Norway has a long history of research and government incentives for BEVs. The BEV market in Norway allows us to fully examine consumers’ BEV choices influenced by car specifications, prices and government incentives (public bus lanes access, toll waiver and charging stations). The Random-Coefficient Discrete Choice Model (referred to as the BLP model) is applied to understand the choices of heterogeneous personal consumers and business buyers. Our study is instantiated on the entire EV sales data in Norway from 2011 to 2013, as well as a set of demographics at the municipality level. The results suggest significant positive effects of BEV technology improvement, space, toll waiver and charging station density on EV demand for both personal consumers and business buyers. However, the effects on business buyers may be generally less pronounced than on personal consumers. Interestingly, bus lanes access demonstrates a negative impact for personal consumers, possibly due to consumers’ concern regarding bus lane congestion. In addition, preferences on the BEV price can vary statistically among consumers with different income levels. Compared to the BEV technology development, demographical features and municipal incentives may have generally less impacts on market shares within the BEV market.

The increase of electric vehicle usage in Norway—incentives and adverse effects

Norway has been named the “capital” of Electric Vehicles (EVs) because the purchase and use of EVs in Norway has increased tremendously over the last few years. Currently, the fleet of EVs in Norway is the largest per capita in the world. From a transportation research perspective, the questions immediately asked are (i) what economic incentives make the purchase and use of EVs in Norway so attractive to road users; (ii) do these incentives have any adverse effects and, if so, how large are they; and (iii) how does the marginal external cost of EVs compare to that of conventional vehicles. We explore the above questions using available data, the literature and personal observations while relating to the city of Oslo as a case study. We find that the tremendous increase in the use of EVs is the result of multiple economic incentives, such as exemption from toll charges, exemption from purchase duties and permission to use transit lanes that induce road users to purchase and use EVs. The increase in EVs has led to a reduction in CO2 emissions. However, some of the EV incentives have adverse effects, the most serious of which is the exemption from toll charges, which has led to a sizable loss of toll revenue. We find that the marginal external cost of EVs’ road use is approximately the same as that for a conventional vehicle. The incentives for EVs should consider the adverse effects and how electricity is produced; the Norwegian approach should not be followed by other countries without due consideration of these factors.

The Norwegian support and subsidy policy of electric cars. Should it be adopted by other countries?

As a result of generous policies to increase the use of electric vehicles (EVs), the sales of EVs in Norway are rapidly increasing. This in sharp contrast to most other rich countries without such generous policies. Due to the subsidies, driving an EV implies very low costs to the owner on the margin, probably leading to more driving at the expense of public transport and cycling. Moreover, because most EVs’ driving range is low, the policy gives Norwegian households incentives to purchase a second car, again stimulating the use of private cars instead of public transport and cycling. These effects are analysed in light of possible greenhouse gas (GHG) emission benefits as well as other possible benefits of utilizing EVs versus conventional cars. We discuss whether the EV policy can be justified, as well as whether this policy should be implemented by other countries.

A Transformative Practice? Meaning, Competence, and Material Aspects of Driving Electric Cars in Norway

This article focuses on the introduction of electric vehicles in Norway and how electrical cars are understood culturally in relation to conventional car use. Theoretically, elements of social practice theory and the analysis of processes of domestication are combined to frame practical, cognitive, and symbolic dimensions of electric car use. The empirical data consists of individual and focus group interviews with electric car users. The analysis unpacks the implications of user-designated meaning in driving practices, competencies considered necessary when driving electric cars, and the material aspects regarded as critical features of electric car driving. Preliminary findings suggest that the practice of electric car driving alters user habits by making transportation needs more salient and raises both the technological and energy consumption awareness of users.

Positive and negative spillover effects from electric car purchase to car use

This study reports the results of two online surveys conducted on buyers of conventional combustion engine cars compared to those of electric vehicles in Norway. The results show that electric cars are generally purchased as additional cars, do not contribute to a decrease in annual mileage if the old car is not substituted, and that electric car buyers use the car more often for their everyday mobility. Psychological determinants derived from the theory of planned behavior and the norm-activation theory show a high correlation between the purchase and use stages. Electric car buyers, have lower scores on many determinants of car use, especially awareness of consequences and close determinants of car use.