Electrifying Scandinavia
The Chambers family have just enjoyed a wonderful festive period in Sweden with reindeers, northern lights and all that good stuff. We purchased a summer house in a little village in the north at the start of the year and try to get there as much as we can. It’s a very beautiful country and as our family are half Swedish (my wife is from Sweden and the kids are Swenglish) it gives us a chance to see family and stay close to our Swedish roots.
It's breathtakingly beautiful but can be freezing (was minus 37 a couple of evenings). Even though it’s a country that experiences harsh winters I see considerably more electric cars on the road there in comparison to the roads in the UK (I do about 30,000 miles a year so I’m on the road enough to have an opinion here). When you also layer on the point of electric cars having less range when its cold (I see around a 10-15% dip in mine when its really cold) the embracing of electric cars is even more interesting.
In recent years, Scandinavia has turned into a global leader in the EV adoption, putting down a model that perhaps others should emulate.?This truly got me contemplating why? From what I can observe, the key factors are sustainability and an interest in the planet.?
Scandinavian countries like Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Finland, have consistently been at the forefront of sustainable initiatives. When it comes to electric vehicles, Norway stands out as a trailblazer.
One of the primary drivers of electric vehicle adoption in Scandinavia has been the proactive approach of governments in the region. Norway in particular has implemented a range of policies that incentivize EV ownership. These include tax breaks, reduced tolls and exemptions from various charges. Additionally, the Norwegian government has invested heavily in the development of charging infrastructure, alleviating concerns about range anxiety among potential EV buyers.
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In contrast, the UK has also made some strides in promoting electric vehicles, but the approach has been more stop-start. The Road to 2030 has become the road to 2035 and this has cast even more anxiety on the UK consumer. A lack of education around battery life/degradation, price and fear around charging infrastructure continue to worry the public.
There are encouraging stats, and I would encourage everyone in automotive to keep an eye on the road to 2035 report from Auto Trader UK . New EV sales have risen and demand for used EV continues to grow. Whilst this is promising it is also clear that EV adoption isn’t on track.
UK Automotive must now look at more successful EV adoptions and replicate key initiatives. We need to see EV costs fall, better incentives introduced, clear information on battery life and a consistent charging infrastructure introduced including in rural areas.
As the global community strives to address climate change and reduce dependence on fossil fuels, the success stories of electric vehicle adoption in Scandinavia should serve as an inspiration and a blueprint for other nations looking to pave the way toward a cleaner, greener future. They are doing it well even in the cold!
Motorcycle Development Manager ... Close Motorcycle Finance
1 年Love my Hybrid in electric, so smooth. Best of all is pre-heat in the mornings, just brilliant, but … We don’t have enough chargers where I live and I do too many daily miles for range to not be a real issue and a electric car to be a non starter ?? The real future is e-fuels. Especially with bikes, as it’s key you keep the sound and passion on bikes. The MCi have an extended term for compliance to electric, but are actively pushing for excemption as motorbikes are 0.4% of the total vehicle pollutant (planes, trucks & trains are the worst). We have discussed this at length in MCi meetings and Honda, Suzuki, Kawasaki, Yamaha are actively testing e-fuel bikes and they are working! Range is an even bigger issue on bikes because of battery size and the true real world range on an e-bike is max 40 miles so very restricted. The future which the govt and ministers are slowly realising, isn’t necessarily electric ??
Great article, Ross. And more importantly, I'm envious of the idea of the Swedish wilderness to escape to ... albeit a bit wary of -37 degree temperatures! :) I think there are 3 key things needed for greater UK EV adoption, principally focussing on greater fairness for all, so that we can truly accelerate their adoption by the mass market 1- affordability - from 2 angles - gvt reducing VAT on used BEVs to enable affordable EV access for the majority; OEMs reacting to the ZEV challenge by stimulating private demand rather than relying on fleet now they have more supply coming through which needs a retail outlet 2 - equality of charging - equalising VAT on home/public charging, providing low rate/off peak renewable type rates in public charge points, and perhaps gvt incentives to subsidise the actual energy cost of charging for those who cant put in a home charger 3 - empathy of comms - around half of drivers tell us they're "EV ready", ie they see EVs fitting into their current lifestyle quite easily. Yet they still have questions and FUD so we need to help them find answers in a simple, clear and non preachy way. Not treating anyone like fools and instead respecting the fact we're talking about massive behavioural changes
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1 年Great article Ross, considering changing to an EV
Regional Business Manager at BOAL Extrusion UK
1 年The main issue in my point of view at the moment is definitely charging options. Public charging is immensely expensive and scarce. Giving you a practical example, in Sutton Coldfield where I reside, if not having your own home charger, you'll have to recur to the public network that was installed in association with Birmingham City Council (ESB), which even being the better-priced option around will cost you on the slower charging speed (22KW/H) an absurd ￡0.59 per KW, plus a ￡4,99 monthly subscription fee. If going for the faster charging option, that will go up to ￡0.68 per KW. Not only talking that 80% of those chargers are located in paid car parks, with a couple of ￡ to add to the bill. You can easily find cheaper and faster charging options while on the road, with the example of Tesla superchargers, (that also accept non-Teslas) which without any mandatory subscription will cost you ￡0.55 KW, at speeds of up to 250 KW/H. There has to be a more accessible option so we can share the joy of using an EV for sure!
?? Revving up success and driving customer satisfaction | Getting customers where they need to be ??
1 年Great post Ross! Me and my missus have been talking about EV’s for a while now but unfortunately so far the con’s are edging out the pro’s!