Norway's near-total adoption of electric vehicles appears to be going smoothly, defying skeptics

Electric car charging in Norway
(Image credit: James D. Morgan/Getty Images)

Norway is more than a decade ahead of the U.S. in its adoption of electric vehicles. If the Biden administration's goal of having 50 percent of new vehicles be electric by 2030 sounds ambitious, Norway passed that mark in 2019, The New York Times reports. In 2022, 80 percent of Norway's new car sales were electric, and it plans to phase out gas-powered cars entirely in 2025. So far, "Norway's experience suggests that electric vehicles bring benefits without the dire consequences predicted by some critics," the Times reports.

Oslo's air is noticeably cleaner — and much quieter — and its greenhouse gas emissions have dropped 30 percent since 2009 with no big uptick in unemployment at gas stations or auto mechanics, or significant strain on the electrical grid. Norway has put a lot of work into making the transition, starting with enacting policies to promote electric vehicles in the 1990s and, more recently, subsidizing the rollout of fast-charge stations throughout the country.

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.