According to the Norwegian importer, no less than 90 percent of the Volkswagens sold in Norway will be equipped with an electric powertrain by 2021.
The importer reports this to the news agency Reuters. Volkswagens Norwegian branch would even expect that no diesel and gasoline models will be sold to Norwegians at all by 2023. This would mean that Volkswagen would be ahead of things, because ‘only’ in 2025 Norway wants all new cars to fall under the heading of ‘zero emission’.
Volkswagen would also achieve a much larger EV share with ninety percent than the average in Norway, while that average is already quite impressive. Reuters reports that a whopping 61.5 percent of all cars sold in September are fully electric. By way of comparison: in 2019 this was 42.4 percent.
Preference
Volkswagen’s expectation is of course on the one hand due to the far-reaching Norwegian incentives for EVs (see below), but also due to Volkswagen’s range of models. After the ID3, the ID4 will also make its appearance next year. Add to that the fact that the Norwegians seem to have a natural preference for Volkswagen and you know that half the country is waiting for the much-discussed electric models from VW.
Last year, Volkswagen just managed to kick it into the most popular brand in Norway. The Tesla Model 3 was – just like with us, by the way – by far the most popular model, so that the Americans ultimately sold only 151 cars less than the trusted Germans (norwaytoday.info). At almost 19,000 units per brand, that is a minimal difference, but it seems that Volkswagen can significantly increase the lead with its new models.
Discount on everything
In the Netherlands, measures are already being discussed that, according to some, would go too far and would disrupt the market, but Norway is going a big step further. Just like with us, EVs are exempt from road tax and the sky-high purchase tax, which in many cases is even higher than our bpm in Norway. In addition, they are also exempt from VAT and there is a discount of at least fifty percent on toll roads, bridges, ferries and even parking costs for EV drivers. EVs are also allowed to use bus lanes in certain cities, there is a substantial discount for business drivers and compensation is also paid for the scrapping of a possible trade-in car on petrol or diesel.
The Netherlands
The prospects of the Norwegian importer naturally raise questions about the forecast for the Netherlands, where the ID3 and ID4 can also count on the warm interest of (business) buyers. When asked, Volkswagen Netherlands let it be known that no concrete percentages are being targeted here. However, it is hinted that electric cars will most likely account for a 30 percent share of the whole by 2020. In the coming years the share of EVs will of course grow, so for 2021 we should probably expect a share of between 30 and 40 percent.