How Norway Increased EVs to 82% of new car sales (vs 7.6% in the US & 24% in China)

Great policies are very important for reducing climate change and helping climate tech startups thrive. A good example of policy problem diagnosis took place in Norway, with a goal to increase electric vehicle adoption. Further information about this can be seen in this Youtube video, entitled "How Norway Built An EV Utopia While The U.S. Is Struggling To Go Electric | CNBC Documentary"

Folks in the government in Norway wanted to expand the adoption of EVs. Now, in 2023 over 82% of new car sales in Norway are EVs - and Norway has the highest adoption rate of EVs in the world (CNBC). This is contrasted with places like the US, where only 7.6% of new car sales were electric in 2023, and China, where EVs were 24% of new car sales were electric in 2023 (CNBC). "BEVs accounted for 24.3% of Norway's 2.9 million cars as of March 15, versus 26.9% for petrol vehicles, according to data from the Norwegian Public Roads Administration seen by Reuters." and BEVs "could overtake petrol cars in Norway by end-2024" (Reuters).

Norway's government correctly diagnosed the problem of EV adoption as lack of incentives, so they removed tax on the sale of new EVs, making buying an EV cheaper than buying a gas car - and allowed folks with EVs to drive in special lanes. They also recognized that another barrier to adoption was lack of chargers, so they invested in EV chargers across the country.?

This is an example to emulate because excitingly, "If more countries follow Norway's lead, demand for oil worldwide could peak earlier than envisaged." (Reuters) - and "Transportation is responsible for 14 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions." (Project Drawdown). Policies have a vast impact on both the climate and the success of climate tech startups; Norway's policy changes to increase adoption of EVs provide an example that illustrates the strong power of policies.