The electric vehicle capital

The electric vehicle capital - © City of Oslo

The electric vehicle capital

Status

ongoing

City

Oslo

Main actors

City Government, National Government, other

Project area

Whole City/Administrative Region

Duration

Ongoing since 2008

With 60% of emissions in Oslo coming from the transport sector, encouraging people to use electric vehicles (EVs) has the potential to make a real difference. In 2008, Oslo adopted a ten-point plan to reduce CO2 emissions, to which the large scale introduction of EVs plays a big part.

With 6,615 electric vehicles registered in Oslo, residents clearly find driving one a convenient option in the city. Oslo has gone to great lengths to ensure that electric car drivers have everything they need to make their journeys as comfortable as possible, including frequent charging points, dedicated parking spaces and access to bus lanes. This is part of Oslo’s ambitious greenhouse gas reduction plans for 2030, towards which the transport sector is a big contributor. The city liaised with environmental stakeholders to develop the best approach to increasing the uptake of electric vehicles, including consulting on the quantity and location of charging points. The city provides grants to ensure all municipal vehicles are emissions free by 2015, while the removal of VAT on electric cars at national level has helped reinforce the measures being taken at city level.

Originally published by EUROCITIES, the network of 130 European cities - PDF: http://nws.eurocities.eu/MediaShell/media/Nov14_citiesinaction_electricvehicles_Oslo.pdf

For further information about the case study, click here.

Sustainable Development Goals

Eurocities Awards

This project was shortlisted for the 'Eurocities Awards' in 2014 in the following category: Innovation.

Learn more

City information

City

Oslo, Norway

Size and population development

647,676 permanent residents (as of 2015). The population of Oslo is increasing at a fast rate (2% annually) making of Oslo one of the most rapidly growing European Capital.

Population composition

71% of Oslo inhabitants are Norwegian (as of 2011)

Main functions

Capital City; economic and governmental centre of Norway; hub of Norwegian trade, banking, industry and shipping

Main industries / business

Energy, ICT, maritime industry

Political structure

The City Council is the governing authority in Oslo and comprises five standing committees.

Administrative structure

Oslo is both a county and a municipality.

Website

https://www.oslo.kommune.no/

Background and objectives

The city’s targets set out a 50% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, with the ultimate goal of becoming climate neutral by 2050. To kick start the adoption of EVs, Oslo’s first move was to install 400 free charging points with reserved parking for EVs across the city. This was done between 2008 and 2011, using dedicated funds set aside by the city. This not only makes driving an EV attractive and convenient, but also helps raise public awareness and increase understanding about EVs.

In 2013, the city went a step further. It decided that all municipal vehicles should be emissions free by 2015, and allocated €6.1 million in interest-free loans for agencies to use when replacing vehicles.

Implementation

Together with the national government, Oslo has put in place a number of incentives that have helped increase the uptake of EVs in and around the city. These include:

the possibility for EV drivers to use bus lanes (introduced in 2004)
reserved parking for EVs, free public parking, and free public charging spots (2008)
free use of toll roads (2009)
removing VAT from sales, removing registration fees and reducing annual fees (2011)

A major mover in this development has been working with the Norwegian Electric Vehicle Association. Oslo has met with a number of EV associations over the years to determine where EV drivers need charging points and to get their views on technological advances. Oslo involved environmental organisations in the process too, to get their input on how to make EVs fit into the wider transport plan. The city also arranged a ‘fossil free day’ with these organisations, including a public exhibition to showcase and allow public test driving of zero emissions vehicles.

Financing and resources

The project was funded by the municipality with a total cost of around €3.7m to cover the installation of the charging points. It also set up the fund for interest-free loans, and established a subsidy for private companies, residential complexes and shopping centres wishing to install charging points for EVs. They can receive up to €1,200 per charging point, and so far 323 of these privately established points exist throughout Oslo.

Results and impacts

As a result of these measures, the city has recorded an increase of over 2,000 EVs on the road between 2012 and 2013, nearly doubling the sales of EVs. In October 2013, an EV topped the sales list for the first time – the Nissan LEAF – followed by the Tesla Model S in December that year. This trend continued into 2014, with EVs making up 20% of all new cars sold in Oslo.

The total number of EVs in Oslo is now up to 7,236 and in the whole Oslo region, the total number is up to 15,253. There are currently over 500 EV charging points in the city, and Oslo hopes to increase this to 700 by the end of the year, and to 900 by March 2015.

References

Cities in action - The electric vehicle capital of the world, Making EVs the right choice - EUROCITIES, November 2014.