The people of Norway love the Tesla Model S – as they love all EVs, for that matter. The reasoning for that simple truth has as much to do with government incentives as it does the merits of the electric car in question.
But as a result of what is by far the most generous collection of incentives in the world, Jalopnik reports that the ordinary, gas-burning peoples of Norway are growing angered by some of the resulting issues raised.
For instance, in Norway, the owners of electric vehicles are legally allowed to use traffic lanes previously reserved exclusively for buses. The result, reports the automotive news site, is an epidemic of overly-crowded bus lanes, as nearly a quarter of new cars on the road in Norway (as of last month) are electric.
The even bigger issue, though, is with regard to monetary losses associated with government electric vehicle incentives. Jalopnik reports that EV-drivers in Norway are currently exempt from road, tunnel, and ferry tolls, in addition to getting a pass on assorted vehicle taxes which, in most cases, raise the cost of a new car purchase by around half. Norwegians also get totally free electric vehicle charging.
But weep not for Norway, for all is not lost; the country has taken steps to start reducing the (ironic, unanticipated) plague of the electric vehicle. Norway will begin charging EV-drivers half of the usual, yearly registration fee by 2018, stepping that up to the whole fee come 2020. The country is also discussing recovering some of the money lost through the “value add tax,” or VAT, exemption moving forward.
As for parking, charging, and road, tunnel, and ferry tolls, Jalopnik reports that those are still in-discussion.
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