7 Tesla Norway Facts That Will Blow You Away

63 thoughts on “7 Tesla Norway Facts That Will Blow You Away”

• This is absolutely unreal. Tesla is outselling Ford? With ONE MODEL? I know that the competition in Norway is pathetic, but still, that’s insane!

  • Amazing 😀

• That is about 2-1/2 weeks of production delivered to Norway in one month. That doesn’t leave many cars for the rest of the world. Now I understand why the Bay area service centers have no loaners again.

  • Yep, that’s why my Model S sales estimates for the US are considerably lower than some other sites putting out monthly EV sales reports. Elon has noted how many cars he expects Tesla will deliver this quarter and has said deliveries to Europe would stay similar to what they were last quarter. Not a whole lot is left for the US at this point in time. http://evobsession.com/nissan-leaf-crushes-competition-march-electrified-vehicle-sales/

• When Electric Car Sales Hit 50% Of Total Car Sales, that will be the day!

  • That will be the day! Can’t wait to report on that. 😀

    • Do you have an estimate?

      Elon says it would be around 2020, but that is for the US. For Norway I imagine much sooner, maybe the first or the second year of the Model E, 2017-2018 or possibly sooner.

      • I think i’d lean towards 2020. But we have done a similar poll regarding when an EV would break into the top 10 of US auto sales and there was a heavily leaning towards 2018: http://cleantechnica.com/2013/08/05/an-electric-car-will-first-break-into-the-top-10-of-global-auto-sales-in/

        Also recommended: http://evobsession.com/electric-cars-may-50-way-market-domination/

  • In a single month? Or on a more permanent basis?
    The most sold ICE in Norway is the VW Golf and soon (this month?) the e-Golf starts to deliver and if it can take shares from the ICE Golf then we might see a 30% month soon.
    50% will take time, I’m guessing that the Model E or at least the 48 kWh Leaf need to be avaliable in big numbers before that happens. So maybe in late 2017 or in 2018.

    • For now, I’ll be jumping for joys for a single month.

      I looked it up and it says “the e-Golf to reach 25 mph from rest in 4.2 seconds and to get to 62 mph in approximately 10.4 seconds. Top speed is electronically limited to 87 mph.” It sounds like the turtle and the hare compared to the model S. Are you sure about the 30% thing?

      • That’s what a normal Golf does. And the price of the e-Golf is less than half of the Tesla.
        The norwegians did put in 1200 e-Golf orders during the first 3,5 hour(!) it was avaliable. Thats two months of ICE Golf sales. I saw somewhere that the orders in stock were way over 3000 for the e-Golf in Norway and that was a while ago so it’s probably higher now.
        They did 22,6% EV’s in march. The ICE golf did 4,5%. I’m sure the e-Golf will take most of the ICE golf sales and probably even more since it will have a back log of orders to fill and because of the EV incentives. So a 7,4% month of e-Golfs isn’t totally impossible.

        It will take another crazy EV month like march combined with a crazy e-Golf month but it’s totally possible.

• The S is $100,000.00 plus here. How much is the government subsidy in Norway?

  • Wiki says –

    All-electric cars are exempt in Norway from all non-recurring vehicle fees, including sales tax. Electric vehicles are also exempt from the annual road tax, all public parking fees, and toll payments,

    According to a study by an analyst of Statistics Norway, the tax exemptions on the purchase of an electric car are worth almost US$11,000 in comparison to the fully taxed price of a regular internal combustion engine car

    And as of January –

    Norway is the distant outlier for countries with the most expensive price per gallon of gas: $10.76 per gallon http://www.ibtimes.com/how-much-do-you-pay-gas-top-5-countries-cheapest-gas-prices-1544025

    • Nope, that can’t be it for the normal family. A VW diesels gets 40 mpg or so and and costs $20K. Even with taxes you’d never come out right side up. Plus, how’s that battery working for you in sub zero temps?

      • The question you asked was ” How much is the government subsidy in Norway?”

        The answer seems to be about US$11,000.

        Then fuel savings. I don’t know how many miles the average Norwegian driver accumulates per year, let’s use the US 13,000 for now.

        13,000 at 40 MPG means 325 gallons at $10.76 means about $3,500 per year for fuel. Over $20k in six years.

        The fuel and tax savings may not be enough to get someone to switch from a VW diesel to a Tesla S but cars are not cheap in Norway. VW Passat base price in the US is $29,115 but in Norway = $54,387.

        VW Touareg in Norway: $130,000. In US: $43,995

        What Tesla might be capturing in Norway is the market share that would otherwise be going to Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Lexus, ….

      • The Norwegians (which have by far bought the most Model S’s and LEAFs per capita) are extremely happy with their cars. Hence, the continued high purchase rates.

        Bob doesn’t live in Norway. Not sure if you were really asking him that last question or not. Go check in on the Norway Tesla forum if you want some feedback from the Norwegians.

        • I’m just wondering about the expense of the car. If it’s the best selling vehicle in that country then something’s very out of whack. I’d like to have one but not at $125K.

        • You are right, something is out of whack. And I tell you what… allmost everything written here regarding taxes of cars and EV´s in Norway is wrong. The MAIN reason Tesla is selling this good in Norway is that Norway has INSANE “luxury car taxes” (cars has a luxury car tax based on HP, Co2 and weight), but all EVs are exempt. This means that a BMW M5 costs 320 000$ (USD) in Norway, while it costs 100k$ in the US. This goes for all good cars with much horsepower/co2 and weight. The Tesla on the other hand is exempt from all luxury taxes. This means that you save more than $150 000 usd (kr 980 000 NOK) just in taxes when buying the Model S. This is the absolute main driver for Model S sales in Norway, (besides the fact that it is the worlds best car). Believe me, I would now as I am Norwegian and I push the car on all of my friends and family, and I have bought and own 2x Model S Performance. If the Model S was not exempt from luxury car taxes and VAT it would cost $284 000 USD for a fully specced Model S, currently it only costs $142 000 USD. Other than that it also helps that fuel is filthy expensive in Norway, again due to taxes. And most people will pay 200$ a month for passing toll roads, and EV`s are exempt from paying when passing toll roads.

        • That’s good info too, thanks Chris. Socialism is still so very cool.

      • Norway is smarter than us. They don’t subsidize your EV purcharse. Instead the tax for non-EVs is double or triple the value of the car. So the $20k VW diesel in Norway is probably $40k or $60k, but then you still have to pay $10/gallon gas and can’t access to free toll roads, bus lanes, or parking. In another word, the government either charges you more or don’t charge, but it doesn’t give you anything.

        I said they’re smarter than us because in the end, the government gets more money, so people can’t complain about them squandering tax payers’ money like so many comments I read about EV incentives in the US.

        • So if the VW diesel is $60k and the cheapest version of the Model S is $72k, people would buy a Model S.

        • None of your numbers seem to add up Johnny Le. I’ll check that VW price you quoted. I don’t see how that is possible. But in any case I don’t call what you say the government is doing smart. I call it manipulating the market to gain a desired end at the expense of the consumer by government fiat. I think that might qualify as fascism. Not unlike Obamacare.

        • “I call it manipulating the market to gain a desired end at the expense of the consumer by government fiat. I think that might qualify as fascism.”

          If you don’t like it, get off the autobahn.

        • I don’t drive the ottobun. But the roads I do drive I paid for and continue to pay for. What’s your problem amigo?

        • “What’s your problem amigo?”

          My problem is you support the government manipulating the market via building roads instead of letting the free market handle it.

        • Oh. You got me there. I hate toll roads. But I don’t think that even a real libertarian is going to bich too much about the federal highway program started in the 50’s.

        • So fascism is OK when it benefits you?

        • The federal highway program was a right wing fascist enterprise? That’s nonsense of the highest order and one of the reasons I call you guys Libertoons, sometimes Libertines depending upon the mood I’m in. Ron Paul sucked too by the way. Not all the time just most of the time.

        • You saw Bob’s quote above? VW Touareg in Norway: $130,000. In US: $43,995. Note that I didn’t quote the price. I gave you a wide estimate. I just know how Norway works, but I don’t know the exact amount it charges for that particular car.

          As an economic major, I’m sorry to tell you but we manipulate the hell out of the market, from small things like cigarette tax to the big things like fossil fuels. Here, we subsidize about $50 billion a year to fossil fuel companies:
          http://priceofoil.org/fossil-fuel-subsidies/

          We created the whole agency to manipulate the market on the daily basis.

          We are humans. Manipulating to gain a desired end is in our nature. The more important question is what the government does with its money. So far, I don’t see Norway as a bad government. Its expenses is less than its revenue. So it’s not wasteful like us. It tries to make sure every single citizen has access to cheap electricity and healthcare. And I read somewhere the profit it makes from oil, it puts into a fund for its citizens.

        • I’m glad it works for them. How many citizens do they have, 5? Just kidding. And I know we manipulate the markets, I mean “they” manipulate the markets we just pay. I’ll look at the numbers. But if the average consumer can trot out the equivalent of $100k for a car then I’d say there are a total of five guys in that country and they all have their own oil well or natural gas pipeline. They also don’t have our undertow, er I mean underclass to pay for with the attendant graft that goes with it so there is money to spread around among those five guys. Just kidding, I’m sure it’s closer to 10 guys.

        • “But if the average consumer can trot out the equivalent of $100k for a car then I’d say there are a total of five guys in that country and they all have their own oil well or natural gas pipeline.”

          2000 hours at the average wage.

        • From the statistics above, it’s not 5 or 10 guys who can afford it. You are right in that it doesn’t seem to have a big underclass. Its people’s average monthly salary is about $6,600, which I believe to be almost twice of ours. So imo, its government is doing something right.

        • Yeah, they found enourmous amounts of oil in the 1960`s. thats pretty much all Norway can lean on today.

        • Norway has 5 million people, and it is not like everybody has a oil pipeline. Oil exports account for about 25% of GDP. Since GDP per capita is about 100 000 USD, almost twice that of the US, and the wealth is quite evenly distributed. That means quite a lot of Norwegians can buy a Tesla Model S.

          Still it isn’t exactly a cheap car, even for Norwegians but a regular new family car in Norway isn’t that far away pricewise from the cheapest Tesla, due to high car taxes. We don’t buy cars as frequently as you would in the US because cars are very expensive due to the taxes. But expensive cars like BMW and Mercedes is still popular it is just that people can’t replace them as often.

        • “I call it manipulating the market to gain a desired end at the expense of the consumer by government fiat. I think that might qualify as fascism. Not unlike Obamacare.”

          Fascism (n): An authoritarian and nationalistic right-wing system of government and social organization.

        • The USA could use Augusto Pinochet right about now.

        • Here are some other car prices.

          Jag XF
          $52,500 in USA
          $182,500 in Norway

          Saab 9-5
          $49,565 in USA
          $124,600 in Norway

          Mazda Miata
          $23,110 in USA
          $54,100 in Norway

          http://jesda.com/2011/02/26/what-a-car-costs-in-norway/

          BTW, Obamacare has succeeded. Suck it up.

        • Don’t be silly and flag this one too while you’re at it.

        • His prices is pretty accurate, one of the most popular cars in Norway is the VW Passat 2.0 Diesel that commonly costs $80 000 USD in Norway due to insane car taxes in our country.

        • Wow. Thanks for the info guys. Socialism is so cool.

        • Also average university graduate in Norway is earning $8300 per month, so $80 000 for a car is not that much.

        • Norway can afford to be smarter than us because they don’t have the residents of Detroit. Detroit, once the car capital of the world. Ironic no?

• How many months is the queue in Norway for Model S? Tesla once said that Norway is their top priority. I wonder when will the deliveries stabilize so that we can have some sort of estimates what will be the demand for the car in Norway.

  Even Top Gear loves Model S!
  http://www.topgear.com/uk/photos/Maserati-Ghibli-takes-on-Model-S-2014-04-03

  Still waiting for the AWD version of S. It really does not make any sense to make non-AWD electric cars.

  • “It really does not make any sense to make non-AWD electric cars.”
    That is your opinion and you are welcome to it, but in consideration of actual facts on any type of powered transport for personal use, they should be three wheeled.
    If all that was considered is the best factors from the engineering and economy standpoint we would be using various sizes of trikes with a single large drive wheel. But unfortunately social acceptance is still a large influence, so it will be another century or two working people away from their personal carriages.

    • I really did not understand what you were saying, but how I see the future that we will have 9 billion people and for every family we have one electric car that is capable of 200 km/h cruising speed on Autobahn.

      This is the promise of electric transportation!

  • I don’t think the deliveries will be stable anytime soon since they make under 1000 cars a week and have three continents to ship, but I think this is Elon’s goal in the first place. He does not want you to figure out when and where the demand is peaked. That could cause panic and harm the stock unnecessarily.

    Can you explain what you mean by it not making sense to make non-AWD electric cars? Because, obviously it’s making it.

    Elon said that before AWD would cause a reduction in range, but the company has figured out to compensate, so now AWD and non-AWD will have the same range. Is this what you meant by it’s not making sense?

    • yes, that is what I meant.

      In addition, electric AWD has not significant weight penalty (<100 kg) and more over the extra cost of AWD is compensated by increased safety level due to better handling. Increased safety level should mean cheaper insurance costs.

      From the perspective of driving performance, electric AWD is wastly superior to ICE AWD, such as Audi Quatro.

  • 6 months delivery time, even if you performance.

• just stupid to buy a gas car
  some people still do.

  • Yeah, I’m actually more curious about those NOT buying the electrics in Norway at this point. Why???

    • They probably worry that the battery may not last 10 years and end up costing them more than gas one in the long run.

      • Good point.

    • I guess one fine day the Norway govt will remove these incentives for electric cars. But by that time it would be too late for ICE cars. Too many people by then would have an electric car and they would be talking about how great it is with their extended family and friends. Soon most people in Norway would have tried an electric car. Once that happens it will be game over for ICE cars at least in Norway. I will keep my fingers crossed that the incentives will last for a few more years at least.

      • The reason Norway gives these incentives is that they have many hydro plants to produce more electricity than they need. So instead of used up oil with ICE cars, they can use EVs and export oil. So unless Norway reaches its max capability to produce electricity, which causes electricity’s price to spike up to be the same with gasoline, otherwise I imagine people would still prefer EVs.

        • This is also why Elon has another company, Solar City, to handle the electricity production because we can’t all switch to EVs if we can’t produce enough electricity to use.

        • That is totally wrong. The reason for the incentives is that EV`s saves the climate and until Tesla arrived they were a major pain in the a** sardin can death traps with ridicioulous range. so people who bought the sardin cans got these incentives in exchange for not polluting.

      • Hear, hear!

    • Range anxiety and 99% of all electrical outlets in Norway will take 30 hours to charge the Model S. (3,7kW). And probably more than 50 % will not have any chance at getting faster charging in norway due to overload in the local grid. I have gotten 22kW charging in my garage spot, but before that i received an offer to get 6kW charging for $30 000 USD. It is extremly expensive to get faster charging in Norway, I wound up paying “only” 6000-7000$ for 22kW charging

      • Interesting.

• So the chart above % new car sales? With Tesla along running at about 10% new car sales so far this year that 4% for all EV in 2013 sound low. But maybe it is just that geometric growth (8% 2014) or exponential growth (more!) are always so hard to wrap you head around.

  • it was for 2013 (and prior to the end of the year too). i should probably stop using it, esp since the estimated line is definitely not steep enough.

• Great for Tesla, but Norway is scarcely typical: sky-high gas taxes, oil wealth. and a Lutheran conscience. The success of the Tesla over the Leaf may be down to geography: Norway is large in area and thinly populated, so range matters anywhere outside Oslo.

• smart strategy by Tesla. If they can get a market to a critical mass where EV’s are a large chunk of the total vehicle fleet the infrastructure will start adjusting around it….that is when EV’s will hit the point of mass-adoption. Norway is the perfect spot for that revolution. When the i-phone captured a significant chunk of the population companies started scrambling to make apps for it…and that was the tipping point. Tesla sees this and i think has made a concerted effort to funnel a high percentage of their production to Norway…..at least until China is ready for deliveries.

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