When calculated in terms of the number of electric vehicle and its charging stations, China seems to be a leader in the electric vehicle market. 45% of the electric car stocks and 78% of the fast charger accounted for China in 2018. Moreover, in the country, the electric vehicle fleet is increasing at a swift pace, virtually faster than any country every year. The country added around 1.1 million electric vehicles to its fleet in 2018 and held the largest electric fleet with 2.3 million units. The stringent regulations and investment by the government can be thanked for this. The country is planning to deploy 1,200 stations to swap batteries, 4.3 million private electric vehicle supply equipment outlets and more than 500,000 publicly accessible chargers to serve 5 million electric vehicles by 2020.
However, the flag bearer to the electric vehicle is not the country with the largest population but a Scandinavian country with not more than 5.5 million people, Norway. Though the Chinese electric vehicle fleet is of 2.3 million, the share to the total vehicle is 4.5% whereas for the Scandinavian country it was 46.4% at the end of 2018. The country has more than 12,000 publicly access charger, highest in terms of per capita charging infrastructure globally. In 2014, just 1% of the total fleet was electric vehicle and now it has reached more than 58% after half-year passed in 2019.
This rapid electric vehicle evolution in the country can be crowned to the government of the country. To date, it is the only country to announce 100% zero-emission vehicles fleet by 2025. Whereas, fellow European countries including Denmark, Ireland, Portugal, and Slovenia have planned to achieve the same target by 2030. Moreover, the buyers do not have to pay registration fees while buying a new electric vehicle and get tax deduction on income tax as well. Not just the buyers, the government is also providing subsidies to companies as the electric vehicle manufacturers do not have to pay sales tax in the country. Most of the electric vehicle companies have footprints here, and Tesla is leading with its Model 3 in the first half of the year. Some other automakers registering their presence include Volkswagen, Nissan, BMW, Toyota, Audi, and Hyundai. In addition to this, there are also perks while riding an electric vehicle in the country, as charging stations are free in the country, which means riding cost is nil. There are also no toll charges when going in or out from the Oslo, the national capital.
It has become the testbed for the world and economies of all continents are studying the action plan of the country so that they can increase their electric vehicle fleet. Emerging countries like China, India, and Brazil have a huge opportunity for the electric vehicle; however, these countries cannot provide that much subsidy on electric vehicle as Norway is utilizing its sovereign wealth fund for subsidiary. It is a reserve fund of the country for rainy days.
