VOA新闻杂志2025--Norway Nears Goal to Sell only Electric New Cars

Norway is very close to meeting its goal of selling only fully¹ electric new vehicles starting this year.

The Norwegian Road Federation² (OFV), an automotive industry group, estimates that nearly 96 percent of new cars registered in Norway in January were all-electric. No other country has such a high rate of electric car (EV) ownership.

The OFV noted³ that of the 9,343 new cars sold last month in Norway, 8,954 of them were all-electric. Of the 50 most-sold models, only two were non-electric. The first of those came in 33rd place among the 50 models, the federation said.

The European Automobile⁴ Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) reported the share of electric cars in Europe was just 13.6 percent during 2024. That was the first recorded decrease since 2020.

OFV director Oyvind Solberg Thorsen said in a statement, "We've never seen this before...If the rest of the year continues like this, we will very soon be close to the 2025 goal." He noted that reaching 100 percent of the goal means to continue to offer the "incentives⁶ that make it profitable to choose an electric car over other models."

Even though it is a major oil and gas producer, Norway aims to only sell "zero emission⁷" new vehicles starting in 2025. That goal is 10 years ahead of the target set by the European Union (EU). Norway is not a member of the EU.

One difference between the EU and Norway's method is that Norway has not banned the sale of cars with engines that burn fuel. Instead, Norway offers a number of tax breaks to EV manufacturers and owners. On the other hand, the country heavily taxes gas-powered vehicles.

For example, Norwegian EV owners do not have to pay road tolls⁹ and receive free parking in public car parks. EVs are also permitted to use parts of roads normally saved for public transportation vehicles.

Chargers everywhere

While some tax breaks and incentives have been reduced over the years, EVs have still kept expanding across Norwegian roads.

Frode Hvattum is a 50-year-old father of three who owns two EVs. He told the French News Agency AFP he started buying EVs because of his concern for the environment and for the benefits of driving them.

He lives in an area near Oslo where the streets are full of Teslas, Audis and Volkswagens. Some less costly¹⁰ Chinese EVs are increasingly appearing too.

Many homes have a device to charge, or supply electricity to, their EV's battery. Norway also has a large national network of superfast charging stations.

Having a nationwide charging network was important for Hvattum, who, like many Norwegians, often travels by car to his second home in the mountains several hours outside Oslo. He said he finds it easy to plan and make trips with numerous charging stations available.

"You don't have to plan your trip as much as before," Hvattum said. He added that he uses the 15-to-20-minute charging breaks his vehicle needs to make it up to the mountains to shop for food.

Meeting its goal

Even if EV sales fail to meet the 100 percent mark this year, experts say Norway can still be seen as having met its goal.

Christina Bu heads the Norwegian Electric Vehicle Association. She told AFP, "We should finish the year at between 95 and 100 percent."

I'm Jill Robbins.

Pierre-Henry Deshayes reported this story for Agence France-Presse. Jill Robbins adapted it for Learning English.

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Words in This Story

incentive⁵ - n. something that urges a person to act in a particular way

emission - n. harmful substances released into the air by automobiles¹¹ or factories burning oil or coal

toll⁸ - n. an amount of money that you are required to pay for the use of a road or bridge

benefit - n. a good result or effect

1 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

2 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

3 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

4 automobile   

n.汽车，机动车

参考例句：

• He is repairing the brake lever of an automobile.他正在修理汽车的刹车杆。
• The automobile slowed down to go around the curves in the road.汽车在路上转弯时放慢了速度。

5 incentive   

n.刺激；动力；鼓励；诱因；动机

参考例句：

• Money is still a major incentive in most occupations.在许多职业中，钱仍是主要的鼓励因素。
• He hasn't much incentive to work hard.他没有努力工作的动机。

6 incentives   

激励某人做某事的事物( incentive的名词复数 )； 刺激； 诱因； 动机

参考例句：

• tax incentives to encourage savings 鼓励储蓄的税收措施
• Furthermore, subsidies provide incentives only for investments in equipment. 更有甚者，提供津贴仅是为鼓励增添设备的投资。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

7 emission   

n.发出物，散发物；发出，散发

参考例句：

• Rigorous measures will be taken to reduce the total pollutant emission.采取严格有力措施，降低污染物排放总量。
• Finally,the way to effectively control particulate emission is pointed out.最后，指出有效降低颗粒排放的方向。

8 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

9 tolls   

（缓慢而有规律的）钟声( toll的名词复数 )； 通行费； 损耗； （战争、灾难等造成的）毁坏

参考例句：

• A man collected tolls at the gateway. 一个人在大门口收通行费。
• The long-distance call tolls amount to quite a sum. 长途电话费数目相当可观。

10 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

11 automobiles   

n.汽车( automobile的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• When automobiles become popular,the use of the horse and buggy passed away. 汽车普及后，就不再使用马和马车了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Automobiles speed in an endless stream along the boulevard. 宽阔的林荫道上，汽车川流不息。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》