Despite its huge reserves of oil and gas, the Nordic country has long been recognized as the world leader in sustainable transportation. Norway's electric vehicle (EV) sales have increased from less than 1% of total auto sales in 2010 to 88.9% last year - and this trend shows no signs of slowing down.
Data from the Norwegian Public Road Administration shows that electric vehicles accounted for more than 96% of new car sales in the first weeks of this year. This brings Norway very close to the goal of a complete conversion to electric vehicles - a goal that lawmakers have not bound since 2017.
Long-term policies help electric vehicles become a "new standard"
Norway's Deputy Minister of Transport, Ms. Cecilie knibe Kroglund, said that long-term and consistent policies to support the use of electric vehicles - instead of banning vehicles running on internal combustion engines - have played an important role in the country's transformation.
Some of Norway's support policies for electric vehicles include value-added tax (VAT) exemptions, reduced road and parking fees, and allowing electric vehicles to use bus lanes. The government has also invested heavily in public charging stations, while many Norwegian households can charge their vehicles at home.
"We will not return to the era of bulky, noisy and polluting diesel vehicles. That is no longer reasonable, said Professor Harald Nils Røstvik at the University of Stavanger (Na Uy).
According to the plan, Norway will completely switch to using electric buses in cities by 2025, targeting 75% of heavy trucks using renewable energy by the end of the decade.
Our whole society has gone through a change in thinking. Not everyone in Norway is more environmentally conscious or prefers electric cars than other countries. The policy has done that, and the people have quickly understood and changed their thinking, emphasized Ms. Christina Bu, General Secretary of the Norwegian Electric Vehicle Association (NEVA).
What is the driving force for the development of electric vehicles in Vietnam?
In Vietnam, the trend of developing electric vehicles is also increasing strongly. A number of policies to support electric vehicles have been implemented by the Government, such as exempting registration fees for electric cars for the first 3 years (from March 1, 2022 to March 1, 2025), then reducing 50% for the next 2 years (According to Decree 10/2022/ND-CP). Vietnam is also stepping up investment in charging station infrastructure with the goal of having at least 150,000 charging stations by 2030.
However, to make electric vehicles truly explode, Vietnam needs more long-term policies such as import tax support, electric vehicle subsidies, as well as strong investment in fast charging infrastructure.
Although it is not possible to compare with Norway in terms of the popularity of electric vehicles, the conversion trend in Vietnam has begun to clear, people are very concerned about air quality and environmental protection. If it continues to have appropriate policies, Vietnam can become one of the leading countries in Southeast Asia in the field of electric vehicles.
