Reported in ebil.no: Because of a broad package of incentives to buy and use electric cars, Norway is leading the way to electrify the road transport. There are over 15,000 electric cars driving in Norway in November 2013, and each month 500 new electric cars hits the roads. The long tradition of electric cars in Norway and the high number of electric cars per capita makes it an interesting case for other countries and the EV business.
The Norwegian Electric Vehicle Association conducts an annual survey among their members and other Norwegian electric car owners. In the 2013 survey, 1,858 EV users contributed with their experiences and opinions.
The typical Norwegian EV user is a middle-aged family father with higher education and income, and he owns a Nissan LEAF as one of two cars. A great majority of the respondents (85 %) has two or more cars in their household (Fig 2). This
is likely because of the shorter range of an electric car. They need a second car for longer journeys than current electric cars can provide. However, for everyday needs, the electric car is sufficient. Norwegians travel 42 km on average every day, mostly by car [5]. Households that already have two cars can easily switch one of them to electric. In Norway, more than 500,000 households currently have two or more cars. Maybe more surprisingly, 15 % of the EV owners
manage to do their daily transport with just their one electric car. For longer journeys, public transport or car rental/sharing is an option. In Norway, high taxation on traditional cars makes it expensive to own a car. You can rent a second car for many trips before the rental cost is exceeding the cost of owning your own traditional car. Some car dealers, like Nissan, even provide a free rental car for 20 days for their customers buying a Nissan LEAF. Four persons in each household is most common 33 %) for electric car owners, and two or more persons in the household represent 94 % of the respondents. Only 6 % is a single person household. 75 % of the survey participants are male and the majority is between 36 and 45 years old. They have significantly higher income than average in Norway, and a majority has education at university level (77 %).Since most electric car models for the moment only are available as new, it is logical that the average age and income is higher for EV owners. Today EVs are mostly available just for those that want to buy a brand new car. Most young people for instance cannot afford to buy a new car. Since there is relatively few second hand electric cars available, it is a more limited option for people with lower than average income.
Nearly half of the respondents to the 2013 survey own a Nissan LEAF, the bestselling EV in Norway (Fig 3) and among the top five at the general model ranking. In April 2013, the LEAF was even the second bestselling car model in total after Volkswagen Golf. The distribution of the rest of the electric car models is in a good way representing the existing electric car fleet in Norway. After Nissan LEAF, the triplets Mitsubishi i-MiEV, Peugeot iOn and Citroën C-ZERO are the most popular electric cars in Norway. There are also still a substantial share of the Norwegian electric cars Think and Buddy. Still, owners of the new generation of electric cars are slightly overrepresented in this survey if you compare it to the total electric car fleet in Norway. We have to mention that 5 % of the respondents have more than one electric car. Most probably, a result of their long ownership of EVs, they keep their old electric car when they buy a new one. A movement to avoid owning traditional cars and the whole family can have an electric car for their daily transport.
To reduce emissions as much as possible we must find methods that will get electric cars to replace the use of traditional cars and not public transport or walking and bicycling. The users in Norway states that their electric car in most cases
replaces use of a traditional car (87 %). For the remainder, the electric car replaces walking, bicycling (1 %) and use of public transport.An earlier study from 2009 suggests that the electric car replaces public transport for commuting by a larger extent then our results at about 18 % [6]. A similar question is how much the electric car replaces a traditional car (Fig 5). 90 % answer completely or to a high degree. If you combine these two questions, it is a clear indication for concluding that the electric car replaces the use of a traditional car for the most extent. Hence, the electric car is not an addition to a traditional car, nor replaces use of public transport or walking and cycling. When that said, it is still important to find
measures to make public transport competitive compared to personal transport.
is likely because of the shorter range of an electric car. They need a second car for longer journeys than current electric cars can provide. However, for everyday needs, the electric car is sufficient. Norwegians travel 42 km on average every day, mostly by car [5]. Households that already have two cars can easily switch one of them to electric. In Norway, more than 500,000 households currently have two or more cars. Maybe more surprisingly, 15 % of the EV owners
manage to do their daily transport with just their one electric car. For longer journeys, public transport or car rental/sharing is an option. In Norway, high taxation on traditional cars makes it expensive to own a car. You can rent a second car for many trips before the rental cost is exceeding the cost of owning your own traditional car. Some car dealers, like Nissan, even provide a free rental car for 20 days for their customers buying a Nissan LEAF. Four persons in each household is most common 33 %) for electric car owners, and two or more persons in the household represent 94 % of the respondents. Only 6 % is a single person household. 75 % of the survey participants are male and the majority is between 36 and 45 years old. They have significantly higher income than average in Norway, and a majority has education at university level (77 %).Since most electric car models for the moment only are available as new, it is logical that the average age and income is higher for EV owners. Today EVs are mostly available just for those that want to buy a brand new car. Most young people for instance cannot afford to buy a new car. Since there is relatively few second hand electric cars available, it is a more limited option for people with lower than average income.
Nearly half of the respondents to the 2013 survey own a Nissan LEAF, the bestselling EV in Norway (Fig 3) and among the top five at the general model ranking. In April 2013, the LEAF was even the second bestselling car model in total after Volkswagen Golf. The distribution of the rest of the electric car models is in a good way representing the existing electric car fleet in Norway. After Nissan LEAF, the triplets Mitsubishi i-MiEV, Peugeot iOn and Citroën C-ZERO are the most popular electric cars in Norway. There are also still a substantial share of the Norwegian electric cars Think and Buddy. Still, owners of the new generation of electric cars are slightly overrepresented in this survey if you compare it to the total electric car fleet in Norway. We have to mention that 5 % of the respondents have more than one electric car. Most probably, a result of their long ownership of EVs, they keep their old electric car when they buy a new one. A movement to avoid owning traditional cars and the whole family can have an electric car for their daily transport.
To reduce emissions as much as possible we must find methods that will get electric cars to replace the use of traditional cars and not public transport or walking and bicycling. The users in Norway states that their electric car in most cases
replaces use of a traditional car (87 %). For the remainder, the electric car replaces walking, bicycling (1 %) and use of public transport.An earlier study from 2009 suggests that the electric car replaces public transport for commuting by a larger extent then our results at about 18 % [6]. A similar question is how much the electric car replaces a traditional car (Fig 5). 90 % answer completely or to a high degree. If you combine these two questions, it is a clear indication for concluding that the electric car replaces the use of a traditional car for the most extent. Hence, the electric car is not an addition to a traditional car, nor replaces use of public transport or walking and cycling. When that said, it is still important to find
measures to make public transport competitive compared to personal transport.
So, he uses his electric car on a daily basis instead of a traditional petrol or diesel car. He uses the electric car for commuting, after work activities, and not for longer holiday trips. He agrees on that his electric car saves him money and time and he is very satisfied as an EV owner. His next car will also be electric.
The typical EV owner has a charging outlet at home and probably also at work. He uses public charging stations less frequent. Fast charging is important to extend the range of the electric car on extraordinary trips and as a security if the battery runs empty by accident. He is willing to pay between 2.5 and 6 Euros for a 15 minutes fast charging session. The location of fast chargers should be between cities and convenient locations where he drives on a regular basis.
The broad package of incentives convinced him to buy his electric car. Although, it was the zero purchase tax and VAT that made the electric car competitive for him to consider in the first place. Low fuel cost, free toll roads and access to bus lanes are also important incentives. In order to get more people to buy an electric car, the EV user highlights longer range and predictable EV policy as the two most important requirements. One challenge to the electric car manufactures and one challenge to the world governments.
