news bureau in Norway, filed two reports this week that show how well the country’s push to lower its carbon emissions is working. Item one is a, the official publication of Norway’s Electric Car Association, that says of the 2.8 million registered passenger cars in Norway today, a quarter are now electric. No other country in the world has such a high share of electric vehicles.
Norway has been aggressively supporting the EV revolution since 1990, when monthly sales of electric cars were often in single digits. Last week, we reported that battery-electric cars reached, climbing to just under 90%. And yet, despite 30+ years of policy support, three-quarters of all passenger cars in Norway are still powered by an infernal combustion engine.
Policies matter. In 2007, Norway adopted incentives for diesel-powered cars. As a result, the number of diesels on the road quickly climbed from 300,000 to 1.2 million. Now diesel sales are declining rapidly but it will take ten years or more before all those diesel cars are retired from service. Meanwhile, even if sales of EVs only stay at around 90% each month, the number of conventional cars on the country’s roads will continue to decline.
To date, most of the electric trucks for ASKO have come from Scania. The Scania 45R has 450 kW of continuous power, three electric motors, and a battery pack with a gross capacity of 624 kWh. In addition to carrying its own cargo, it is designed to pull a two-axle trailer and has a permitted total weight of 44 tons. Scania also has models available with 4×2 and 6×2 axle combinations that are approved for a total weight of 64 tons.