Some countries are definitely leading the way when it comes to electric vehicles. Electric vehicles made a big leap ahead in several countries in 2020, despite difficult conditions and the pandemic's severe
impact on the automobile industry. Nonetheless some of the countries in the world our influencing the boom in the electric vehicle adoption by giving incentives to the company manufacturing the vehicles and as well as the common man purchasing it. Let’s look at some of the countries in the world who are in
a pursuit of a carbon free world and aiming towards carbon neutrality by adopting electric vehicles over conventional gas vehicles.
#1 Norway.
Undoubtedly this Scandinavian country tops the list when it comes to the rate of adoption of electric vehicles. The Norwegian electric vehicle market accounts to 78.4%. This is a phenomenal indicator that demonstrates the commitment of the local population and importantly, the authorities, to a rapid transition to transport with alternative energy sources. By 2,025, the country is eager to completely
abandon the purchase of Ice cars, replacing them with electric cars, plug in hybrids, and hydrogen fuel cell cars. The sports crossover Audi Etron became the most popular car among electric cars. The Tesla Model 3 came in second, followed by cars such as the Volkswagen ID.3 and Nissan Leaf and the hybrid
version of the Volkswagen Golf.
#2 Iceland
In the last four years, Iceland has quietly become one of the world's leading EV markets, although the groundwork for low-carbon transportation was built decades ago. Iceland is an attractive market for EVs because of renewable energy, low electricity prices paired with high fossil-fuel prices, and a rapid urbanisation rate. This Scandinavian country accounts 45% of cars in the electric car space. Iceland generates practically all of its electricity from renewable sources. Hydropower accounts for almost three-quarters of domestically produced electricity, while geothermal energy accounts for one-quarter. This
low-carbon electricity is offered to consumers at a relatively cheap cost—20% less than the EU average, while traditional automotive gasoline costs in Iceland are among the highest in the world.
#3 Sweden
The use of plug-in electric vehicles in Sweden is aggressively encouraged by the Swedish government. Since 2011, 217704 light-duty plug-in electric vehicles have been registered, including 148,889 plug-in hybrids, 62,870 all-electric automobiles, and 5,945 fully electric commercial vans, as of December 2020. Sweden accounts for 32.2% of vehicles in the electric space. Since 2015, Sweden has been among the top ten best-selling plug-in markets in the world, and it is currently the ninth largest market. Sweden had the sixth largest stock of plug-in passenger cars in Europe as of December 2019.
#4 Netherlands
Despite its small size, the Netherlands is rich in culture, history, and breath taking sites. The Netherlands is also one of Europe's and the world's leading electric vehicle markets. In 2020, battery electric vehicles (BEVs) will accounted for almost 21% of all newly registered cars, while plug-in hybrid electric vehicles will account for 4%. (PHEVs). Currently Netherlands accounts to 24.9% of vehicle in the electric vehicle space. This rapid adoption, particularly of BEVs, is a result of the progressive electric vehicle policies that have been in place for several years. The Dutch government is offering considerable incentives to buyers and owners of electric vehicles to encourage the electrification of the national vehicle fleet. This is especially true for BEVs, which are the government's zero-emission transportation strategy's focal point. People who buy or lease a new battery electric passenger automobile can get €4,000 back from the government. The amount is €2,000 in the case of a used battery electric automobile. Furthermore, BEV
owners obtain exemptions from the one-time registration tax and annual ownership taxes, or a decrease in the case of PHEVs. Purchasers and owners of traditional combustion engine vehicles, on the other hand, are subjected to vehicle taxes that are disproportionately expensive in contrast to other European markets.
#5 Finland
The number of electric vehicles in Finland has increased dramatically during the last decade. In 2020, the country will have approximately 45.7 thousand hybrid automobiles and over 9.7 thousand electric cars registered. The electric car distribution in Finland accounts to 18.1%. The number of plug-in hybrid automobiles has increased significantly since 2015, whereas the number of all-electric passenger cars has grown more slowly.
#6 Denmark
Denmark's latest step to meet its target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 70% by 2030 is to put at least 775,000 electric or hybrid automobiles on the country's roads by 2030. The government also stated that by 2030, it hopes to have 1 million zero-emission vehicles on the road. The existing agreement secures funding for the first 775,000 vehicles. In Denmark, there are only about 20,000 electric cars, which accounts to about 16.4% of the whole fleet of Danish cars. Tariffs and levies on automobiles that run on fossil fuels will gradually rise under the new laws, and new car taxes
will be based on how much carbon dioxide they release.
#7 Switzerland
Electric or hybrid vehicles made up only 2% of all passenger cars on Swiss roads in 2018. Only 0.4 percent of the vehicles were powered entirely by electricity. Since 2019, it appears that the tables have turned. Over 5,000 electric vehicles have been sold in Switzerland in the last year, accounting for about 4% of all new registrations. Furthermore, for the first time ever, an electric vehicle, the new Tesla Model 3, was the best-selling vehicle of 2019. In September 2020, "plug-in vehicles," i.e. electric and hybrid cars, even surpassed the 10% mark in terms of new vehicle registrations. Whereas in 2021 the electric car adoption figure is at 14.3% which is quite a considerable leap.
#8 Portugal
Portugal also has EV market shares in Europe, with plug-in hybrids accounting for 13.6% of all vehicle sales in 2020. Since 2017, electric vehicle sales have increased significantly in the country, owing to financial incentives such as subsidies and tax reductions. The concentration of electric vehicles accounts for 13.5% of all the vehicles in the country. Incentives for electric vehicle ownership have been awarded €4,000,000 by the Portuguese government's Environmental Fund for 2021. Purchase of a new BEV (car/van) for €3,000, limited to one vehicle per person. Fully electric vehicles with a list price under €62,500 and hybrid plug-in vehicles with a list price under €50,000 are eligible for a complete VAT discount. Road tax is also waived for fully electric vehicles.
#9 Germany
In 2020, full-electric car sales in Germany will have climbed threefold to 194,163 units. In the fourth quarter of 2020, electrified vehicles with full or partial electric propulsion had a market share of 22%, indicating that the German government is on track to meet its objective of having 7 million to 10 million registered electric vehicles on German roads by 2030. At the end of 2020, full-electric vehicles accounted for 1.2 percent of all registered passenger cars in Germany, up from 0.5 percent a year earlier. VW topped full-electric car registrations with a 20.2 percent market share, followed by Renault with 18.1 percent and Smart with 11.6 percent.
#10 Luxembourg.
Luxembourg's government has extended its electric vehicle subsidy scheme for another twelve months, until March 31, 2022. The price of pure electric automobiles will be tied to their electricity use in the future. Support for plug-in hybrids will be available just through the end of the year. Luxembourg's government has decided to prolong its electric vehicle subsidy programme for another year, until March 31, 2022. In the future, the price of pure electric vehicles will be linked to their electricity use. Plug-in hybrid support will only be available until the end of the year. The concentration of electric vehicles accounts to around 11.4% in the country.
So the take away from this list is all the countries mentioned are in the continent of Europe. This tells us that Europe as a whole continent is spearheading towards an ultimate goal of carbon neutrality. Countries like China, United States, Canada, Japan, France and United Kingdom deserves to be mentioned because in these countries the number of electric vehicles are far more than the number of electric vehicles in the countries mentioned in the above list. For example, China and United States have 3.6 million and 1.6 million electric vehicles respectively on their roads but at the same time the population in those countries are a lot higher. Hence the proportion of the population to electric cars than conventional gas powered cars is low. That is the reason we didn’t include those countries in this list. Certainly other countries in the world should also join this bandwagon, contribute and put forth their participation in saving our dear planet from global warming.