Oslo may just be 2 hours and 10 minutes from London, but Norway’s road transport electrification has thoroughly eclipsed the UK, along with every other nation in Europe and beyond. We spoke with Guy Haydon, UK managing director of Zaptec, a Norwegian charge point manufacturer that entered the UK market last year, to explore the similarities and differences in the nations’ progress so far.

Guy Haydon, UK managing director of Zaptec

Currently, battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) dominate Norwegian car sales at around 85%. Across the entire Norwegian car parc, the past 12 months have seen a 5% growth in the combined plug-in fleet, up to more than 23% of the nation’s 2.85 million vehicles. It is estimated that this year, the electric fleet will increase by 6%. At that rate, the vast majority of the passenger car fleet will be electric by 2030.

“Zero-emission vehicle adoption in Norway is world leading, it is very impressive,” explains Haydon. “I don’t mean to steal their thunder, but the UK actually has a similar number of electric vehicles on its roads! We’ve got around 477,000 to Norway’s 470,000. The UK actually has more public chargers, around 32,000 to Norway’s 19,000, but now might be the right time to confess that the UK has twelve times Norway’s population.”

Despite his jests, Haydon emphasises that Zaptec’s Norwegian origins mean it has shared in this tremendous success. Growth of the EV fleet lay the groundwork for Zaptec’s local market share and funded the research and development that have made its chargers some of the most advanced and popular in Norway. It has also shown Haydon, first-hand, some of the key factors and policies in Norway’s success.

“All too often people quickly bring up the sovereign wealth fund as an explanation for their success with EVs,” Haydon continues The truth is that it has had no direct impact. Fundamentally, the change has been driven by tax hikes on polluting vehicles and concessions for low- and zero-emission vehicles. These policies date back to the 90s, with zero import tax on electric vehicles – talk about ahead of the curve!”

Haydon cites a number of progressive Norwegian policies introduced over the past three decades, from 50% discounts on company car tax to free tolls and parking. Perhaps the most important policy of all, he argues, was the introduction of 0% VAT on EV purchases and leases.

“Without VAT, the gross price of a new EV was substantially reduced. This allowed early adopters to bypass the price premium of EVs and purchase an equivalent class of car for almost the same price. With price equivalence, supporting incentives and a growing social pressure to minimise individual emissions, the country has kickstarted and sustained EV adoption.”

While EV growth in the UK has been primarily driven by private buyers, there are certainly signs that fleets are electrifying. According to the BVRLA, the final quarter of 2021 saw around 45% of new registrations as either BEVs or PHEVs. The Association highlighted that taxation was one of the key drivers, with low Benefit-in-kind rates for company cars and the breakthrough of electric vehicle salary sacrifice schemes, where 78% of orders were for EVs. Business Contract Hire (BCH) also saw EVs come out on top with 42% compared to just 8% diesel vehicles. While this year’s fleet registrations are so far similar to 2021, there has been tremendous growth in EV orders for fleets under 25 vehicles.

“While things have moved slowly in the UK, fleet decision makers recognise the environmental and whole-life cost benefits of transitioning to electric vehicle fleets. Often, they are slowed by challenges on the vehicle supply side and the provision of sufficient dedicated charging infrastructure in workplaces, depots or for those without off-street parking remain a challenge. While Zaptec can’t improve the vehicle supply challenges, our robust AC charging products with clever technology to maximise charging rates from the existing electricity capacity are perfectly suited to the fleet environment.

“We have worked with a number of businesses to install chargers at their commercial premises in preparation for fleet electrification. So, there are certainly a great many forward-thinking businesses that are seeing the advantages of EVs, but certainly not on the same level as our Norwegian counterparts.

“Let’s be honest, the vast majority of journeys, even for businesses, can be achieved by BEVs! Even in cases where recharging would truly disrupt operations, there are plug-in hybrids. The Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV) Workplace Charging Scheme (WCS) is helping businesses make the switch by covering up to 75% of the purchase and installation of chargers to the tune of £350 per unit, up to 40 chargers total. It is a fantastic way for businesses to prepare for the 2030 ban on petrol and diesel vehicle sales. Just be mindful that, like many incentives for new technology adoption, the grant is likely to be reduced or removed as more businesses electrify. So, make the most of it!”

While Norway and the UK share similarities and differences, the Norwegian approach has certainly delivered more aggressive adoption of zero-emission vehicles. With 98% of Norway’s electricity coming from renewable sources, much of its car fleet is now operating with zero emissions – a very impressive feat in such a short space of time. While the UK may currently lag behind, the UK Government’s 2030 ban looms large and many individuals and fleets are simply timing their ‘big switch’.