Norwegian electric car user experiences

Norway has the highest number of electric cars per capita in the world. In June 2013, Norway reached 13.000 electric cars in a country of 5 million inhabitants. The Norwegian Electric Vehicle Association (NEVA) is probably the world´s biggest EV user organization with over 7,000 members. The experiences from the members of NEVA can give decision makers valuable input. In this paper, we will present and analyse the results from the 2012 and 2013 Norwegian electric car user survey. In the survey, we ask electric car owners about background details, such as how they drive and charge their car and their opinions on the EV market and Norwegian EV policy. In the 2013 survey, 1,858 EV users contributed with their experiences and opinions. The typical Norwegian EV user is a middle-aged family father with higher education and income, and he owns a Nissan LEAF as one of two cars. He drives his electric car on a daily basis instead of a traditional petrol or diesel car. He agrees on that his electric car saves him money and time and he is very satisfied as an EV owner. The broad package of incentives convinced him to buy his electric car. Although, it was the zero purchase tax and VAT that made the electric car competitive for him to consider in the first place. Low fuel cost, free toll roads and access to bus lanes are also important incentives. In order to get more people to buy an electric car, the EV user highlights longer range and predictable EV policy as the two most important requirements. One challenge to the electric car manufactures and one challenge to the world governments.