Norway's Already In Future: Electric Cars Grab Almost Half Of Sales

[50 shades of black + 254]

Almost half of new cars sold in Norway in the first six months of 2019 were powered by fully electric engines, up from just over a quarter in the same period last year, ensuring the Nordic nation retains its top global ranking in electric vehicle sales. Tesla’s (TSLA.O) Model 3 was Norway’s top-selling vehicle, the Norwegian Road Federation (NRF) said when announcing the latest sales data on Monday. In total, 48.4% of all new cars sold from January to June were electric, surpassing the 31.2% seen for the full year 2018, and making oil-producing Norway the global leader in per-capita electric car sales by a wide margin. Seeking to end the sale of diesel and petrol engines by the middle of the next decade, Norway exempts battery-driven cars from the heavy taxes imposed on vehicles powered by fossil fuel. It also offers benefits such as discounts on road tolls.

[pinto + 293]

So, there must be a lot of rich people in Norway....😀

[ThunderBlade + 231]

When you have that type of support you can afford it.  Norway, government also subsidizes electric vehicles, meaning they're not as expensive as one might think. The government has also built charging stations all over the country....very simple.

[damirUSBiH + 327]

Well done Norway and Tesla!

 

[Pavel + 384]

More than half of Norway's new car sales are EVs. That's a crazy and amazing statistic! Congrats to Norway!

[rainman + 263]

3 minutes ago, damirUSBiH said:

Well done Norway and Tesla!

 

More data about it: one in 121 people own a Tesla, Tesla 1 in 66 of cars...

[Bobby P + 88]

What's the population of Norway? Very low...

[Jakridge + 122]

Ironic in that Norways wealth is mostly due to oil.  The country uses the interest off of the government owned commodity to help fund it and invests' the profits in global markets.  They also have or at least had a similiar income tax rate to the US, but does have higher taxes on fuel and goods.  They are also trending more capitalistic as the US is fighting off the socialists tendencies that have apparently become en vogue.  Perhaps things have changed a bit.

Edited July 2, 2019 by Jakridge

[BenFranklin'sSpectacles + 762]

On 7/1/2019 at 3:02 PM, Bobby P said:

What's the population of Norway? Very low...

Yes, Norway is a small country.  That's not terribly relevant though.  The main reason they can go electric is a nigh-endless supply of domestic, hydroelectric power coupled with government incentives.  As battery prices fall, other nations will quickly follow their lead.  The limiting factor will be battery production, which will take a decade or two to ramp up. 

Edit: advanced nuclear will be just as cheap as hydro and deployable anywhere.  If the world had invested in coal, gas, and nuclear instead of driving up electricity prices with renewables, they'd be in Norway's position. 

Edited July 14, 2019 by BenFranklin'sSpectacles

[BenFranklin'sSpectacles + 762]

12 hours ago, Jakridge said:

Ironic in that Norways wealth is mostly due to oil.  The country uses the interest off of the government owned commodity to help fund it and invests' the profits in global markets.  They also have or at least had a similiar income tax rate to the US, but does have higher taxes on fuel and goods.  They are also trending more capitalistic as the US is fighting off the socialists tendencies that have apparently become en vogue.  Perhaps things have changed a bit.

I wasn't aware that Norway is trending capitalist; thanks for that.

On that note, the US trended socialist from the 1930's to the present, but there are some signs the US may have hit Peak Socialism.  The issue is still in question though; we'll see how it goes. 

[Jakridge + 122]

On 7/2/2019 at 7:48 AM, BenFranklin'sSpectacles said:

I wasn't aware that Norway is trending capitalist; thanks for that.

On that note, the US trended socialist from the 1930's to the present, but there are some signs the US may have hit Peak Socialism.  The issue is still in question though; we'll see how it goes. 

I'm afraid it's going to be a constant battle, as long as there is evil in this world it will try to destroy America.

[BenFranklin'sSpectacles + 762]

10 hours ago, Jakridge said:

I'm afraid it's going to be a constant battle, as long as there is evil in this world it will try to destroy America.

Probably.  On the other hand, bad ideas have a way of destroying themselves, and Socialism has worked its way through most of the world with disastrous consequences.  I'm not too worried about it. 

[James Regan + 1,776]

On 7/2/2019 at 9:48 AM, BenFranklin'sSpectacles said:

I wasn't aware that Norway is trending capitalist; thanks for that.

On that note, the US trended socialist from the 1930's to the present, but there are some signs the US may have hit Peak Socialism.  The issue is still in question though; we'll see how it goes. 

Let’s not forget what’s driving the power grid it’s not oil, Norway has so much hydroelectric energy it’s scary. So Norway not really a good model to use to push the EV debate.

Plus almost as many boats as cars!!

[BenFranklin'sSpectacles + 762]

5 hours ago, James Regan said:

Let’s not forget what’s driving the power grid it’s not oil, Norway has so much hydroelectric energy it’s scary. So Norway not really a good model to use to push the EV debate.

Plus almost as many boats as cars!! 

Norway was the first due to hydroelectric.  However, the economic and geopolitical advantages of EVs are compelling.  The world will follow suit - and quickly. 

[Rasmus Jorgensen + 1,169]

On 7/2/2019 at 2:01 AM, Jakridge said:

Ironic in that Norways wealth is mostly due to oil.  The country uses the interest off of the government owned commodity to help fund it and invests' the profits in global markets.  They also have or at least had a similiar income tax rate to the US, but does have higher taxes on fuel and goods.  They are also trending more capitalistic as the US is fighting off the socialists tendencies that have apparently become en vogue.  Perhaps things have changed a bit.

How did you reach the conclusion that Norway trending more capitalistic? And how do you define capitalism? Just curious. 

[Bill the Science Nerd + 73]

On 7/1/2019 at 11:23 AM, pinto said:

So, there must be a lot of rich people in Norway....😀

Yes, Norway is a very wealthy nation per capital.

[Jakridge + 122]

21 hours ago, Rasmus Jorgensen said:

How did you reach the conclusion that Norway trending more capitalistic? And how do you define capitalism? Just curious. 

Capitalism is an economic system where the means of production and wealth exchange are done by private individuals and private corporations and not controlled by the government.  Nordic countries are, and more importantly have been for a long time, very wealthy.  They do have socialistic tendencies in social ways by high taxation that funds government entitlement programs but their wealth has and continues to be based on free market economics in that the government does not control the means of production and wealth exchange.  I say they are trending more capitalistic because they are not heading in the direction of socialism economically.  I believe, and hope, they are too smart for that in that they don't want to kill the goose that laid the golden egg like Venezuela has.

[Rasmus Jorgensen + 1,169]

3 hours ago, Jakridge said:

Capitalism is an economic system where the means of production and wealth exchange are done by private individuals and private corporations and not controlled by the government.  Nordic countries are, and more importantly have been for a long time, very wealthy.  They do have socialistic tendencies in social ways by high taxation that funds government entitlement programs but their wealth has and continues to be based on free market economics in that the government does not control the means of production and wealth exchange.  I say they are trending more capitalistic because they are not heading in the direction of socialism economically.  I believe, and hope, they are too smart for that in that they don't want to kill the goose that laid the golden egg like Venezuela has.

I unfortunately do not have time for well thought out answer, but you do know that the government is the majority shareholder of Equinor, rigth? And that Equinor (back when it was statoil) laid the bedrock for Norwegian wealth.... there are lots of other nuances to debate as well. 

One of my biggest issues with the political debates on this forum is this super simplistic definition of Capitalism and socialism. 

[Jakridge + 122]

15 hours ago, Rasmus Jorgensen said:

I unfortunately do not have time for well thought out answer, but you do know that the government is the majority shareholder of Equinor, rigth? And that Equinor (back when it was statoil) laid the bedrock for Norwegian wealth.... there are lots of other nuances to debate as well. 

One of my biggest issues with the political debates on this forum is this super simplistic definition of Capitalism and socialism. 

Please pardon my simplicity, however some things are simple. There is right and wrong, good and evil, and capitalism and socialism.  I agree there is also nuance but it does not negate the former.  Thank you for the information on Equinor.  Majority shareholder makes you a shareholder though.  Michael Dolan is majority shareholder of Exxon (as of 2/18) and he doesn't have full control over Exxon or of the US government.  I guess what I should ask is, if the government of Norway has a majority share of Equinor, does that make Equinor no longer a private company?  Perhaps it does, my intuition tells me it's not a good thing to have the government as a majority shareholder in any private company in a free market society, but then again it depends on the government and its intentions.

Edited July 12, 2019 by Jakridge

[Jakridge + 122]

On 7/9/2019 at 7:16 AM, BenFranklin'sSpectacles said:

Probably.  On the other hand, bad ideas have a way of destroying themselves, and Socialism has worked its way through most of the world with disastrous consequences.  I'm not too worried about it. 

I think your right, and hope your right, but it continues to befuddled me as to why people want to continue to try it even though every time it's tried, it results in the death of humans on a mass scale.

[BenFranklin'sSpectacles + 762]

1 hour ago, Jakridge said:

I think your right, and hope your right, but it continues to befuddled me as to why people want to continue to try it even though every time it's tried, it results in the death of humans on a mass scale. 

Because the average IQ is 100, and half the population is below that. 

Also, because people would rather feel good today than work to ensure their future.  This bothered me until I absorbed a few lessons:
1)  Failure to plan on their part does not constitute an emergency on mine.
2)  You can't fix stupid.
3)  The path to inner peace begins with four simple words:  Not my f***ing problem

Eventually, America will look like every empire before it: a minority of intelligent, competent, wealthy people surrounded by a sea of idiots.  I'd fight it, but that's not the hill I want to die on.  Better to focus on ensuring my friends & family are among the wealthy. 

[Rasmus Jorgensen + 1,169]

7 hours ago, Jakridge said:

Thank you for the information on Equinor.  Majority shareholder makes you a shareholder though.  Michael Dolan is majority shareholder of Exxon (as of 2/18) and he doesn't have full control over Exxon or of the US government.  I guess what I should ask is, if the government of Norway has a majority share of Equinor, does that make Equinor no longer a private company?  Perhaps it does, my intuition tells me it's not a good thing to have the government as a majority shareholder in any private company in a free market society, but then again it depends on the government and its intentions.

https://www.equinor.com/en/investors/our-dividend/our-shareholders.html

The Norwegian government owns 67 % of Equinor. 

I am unfortuantely too busy, but perhaps some the people well versed in offshore can breakdown how the "Norwegian model" in offshore contracting laid the foundation for global world leading companies...

[Jakridge + 122]

22 hours ago, BenFranklin'sSpectacles said:

Because the average IQ is 100, and half the population is below that. 

Also, because people would rather feel good today than work to ensure their future.  This bothered me until I absorbed a few lessons:
1)  Failure to plan on their part does not constitute an emergency on mine.
2)  You can't fix stupid.
3)  The path to inner peace begins with four simple words:  Not my f***ing problem

Eventually, America will look like every empire before it: a minority of intelligent, competent, wealthy people surrounded by a sea of idiots.  I'd fight it, but that's not the hill I want to die on.  Better to focus on ensuring my friends & family are among the wealthy. 

Brilliantly said Sir!

[NickW + 2,714]

On 7/12/2019 at 12:58 AM, Jakridge said:

Please pardon my simplicity, however some things are simple. There is right and wrong, good and evil, and capitalism and socialism.  I agree there is also nuance but it does not negate the former.  Thank you for the information on Equinor.  Majority shareholder makes you a shareholder though.  Michael Dolan is majority shareholder of Exxon (as of 2/18) and he doesn't have full control over Exxon or of the US government.  I guess what I should ask is, if the government of Norway has a majority share of Equinor, does that make Equinor no longer a private company?  Perhaps it does, my intuition tells me it's not a good thing to have the government as a majority shareholder in any private company in a free market society, but then again it depends on the government and its intentions.

There are very few purely capitalist or Socialist economies. The Nuance you are looking for is mixed market economy which 99% of countries on the planet fall into.