Advertising Blunder: Get Your EV Battery Replaced For Free — And Some Real News On EV Sales & ICE Tax In Denmark

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Who said Denmark is not ready for electric vehicles? On the contrary, the Organization of Danish Motorists FDMhas the perfect solution for anyone with range anxiety in their EV:

Image credit: fdm.dk (Google translate and hat tip to Mikkel Stæhr)

“Can your car handle the winter cold? With FDM road help you can check your car’s battery. If it does not meet our standards, you will get a new battery installed at no additional cost.”

Can’t blame them for making this small — but fun — blunder, since only 30 new EVs were sold in January this year in Denmark. However, that’s up from 6 EVs sold in January 2017. A full 5-fold increase — not bad!

OK, jokes and sarcasm aside, here is some real interesting news on a new tax on cars in general in Denmark: gas and diesel cars may soon be considerably more expensive.

You may have heard about the new Worldwide Harmonized Light Vehicles Test Procedure (WLTP) that has to be followed for new vehicle types soon. From September 2018 onwards, it will become mandatory for all new vehicles in the EU. It will result in as much as 20% poorer efficiency results than the current New European Driving Cycle (NEDC).

The thing is, in Denmark, taxation on gas and diesel cars are calculated against efficiency in such a way that an average priced mid-size gas/diesel car would get 10–20% more expensive to buy and 20% more expensive in yearly emissions tax, according to FDM.

Question is, did the politicians enforcing tax cuts on gas and diesel cars last year think about this? And will they turn a deaf ear now and give EVs a new chance? Let’s wait and see when EV sales numbers for the Danish market are in next January.