How Governments Invest In Local Car Markets
Different governments invest in the automobiles in their countries differently, and we have decided to investigate different incentives that you can take advantage of. The electric vehicle revolution is well and truly here, changing the perspectives of both consumers and governments. And, of course, who wouldn’t want to get a brand new car, especially if it can be paid for by the government and your online pokies casino winnings?!
Electric Cars in Norway
In recent years, Norway has truly become the European leader in the use of electric vehicles. The Norwegian government is offering huge incentives to the owners of electric vehicles, such as free use of bus lanes in peak hour traffic and waived sales taxes. The government has also waived high vehicle import duties and registration taxes. As a result, in 2018, over 30% of all cars in Norway are electric - the highest ratio of electric-to-petrol cars in Europe! Norway is a very rich country, however, benefitting from the North Sea oil exports, and the vehicle of choice for well-to-do Norwegians is Tesla SUV Model X, which retails for over $100,000. However, when taking into account taxes on petrol cars, it’s not that much more expensive than a standard SUV of a comparable size.
Incentives in Argentina
In Argentina, the government has also decided to boost the imports of electric vehicles, in order to welcome environmentally friendly technology, and catch up to the standards set by other countries. The Argentinian government is planning to significantly reduce taxes on electric vehicle imports into the country (0 km vehicles), to make them much cheaper to purchase. Currently, new vehicles are taxed at 35% rate, whereas after these incentives go through, the new tax will be 2% for electric and 5% for hybrids. This is bound to change the landscape of the local car market, by making electric cars more accessible and attractive to buy new.
Car co-share in Finland
Owning a car outright in Finland is very expensive. It’s not just the cost of the car itself, but the very high taxes, depreciation and high maintenance costs. And this is before the environmental cost of the petrol or diesel vehicle is taken into account! So it’s a little wonder that a lot of Finnish people are opting out for a leasing / co-sharing arrangement for their vehicle. There are many leasing and co-sharing companies, which allow people to rent or lease a car for a few hours, a week or a month. The running and maintenance costs, compared to owning a new vehicle, are much lower – and since a lot of these rental companies are shifting to electric cars, it’s good news for the environment, and the health of future generations, too.
Electric cars in New Zealand
New Zealand is also become one of the world’s leaders in the number of electric cars on the road. The NZ government is committed to doubling the number of electric vehicles in New Zealand every year, aiming to reach over 60,000 cars by 2021. There are incentives for owning electric cars, such as being able to use bus lanes and high-occupancy vehicle lanes on the State Highway network and local roads, and huge incentives for the government and private sector to switch their fleets to the electric vehicles. There are also many electric car co-share and rental companies, for example in Queenstown, where the little electric cars are seen everywhere – and are also very popular with the tourists! And, of course, there are many convenient recharging points and stations all over the country.
New Zealand is quick to embrace new technology in general and was one of the first countries in the world to have electronic transactions in shops: the fantastic Eftpos system. While people in most other countries were still carrying wads of cash, kiwis were just swiping their Eftpos cards. Brilliant! Young New Zealanders have also been quick to embrace the Internet and are high users of social media platforms. Tablets or laptops are requirements in many NZ schools. If you want to know if all this technology is a good thing for NZ teenagers read our article on Technology, Teens and Mental Health.
Overall, there are great advantages to owning an electric car – cheaper running costs, cheaper maintenance, benefits for the environment (much lower CO2 emissions) and safety improvements. More and more governments are starting to jump on-board with the electric revolution, making it more accessible and attractive for the consumers to invest their hard-earned money in electric vehicles.