Research on electric cars in Norway / Forskning på elbiler i Norge

[Researcher]

Hello, I am researcher from a UK university looking for opinions on low carbon energy innovations. I would really appreciate anyone giving their thoughts on the following question:

What are the biggest positive or negative issues with electric vehicles in Norway, and how can these be addressed?

You can reply either in English or in Norwegian.

Thank you!



Hei, jeg er forsker fra et britisk universitet, og leter etter meninger om lav-karbon energiinnovasjoner. Jeg vil virkelig sette pris på noen som gir sine tanker på følgende spørsmål:

Hva er de største positive eller negative problemene med elbiler i Norge, og hvordan kan disse løses?

Du kan svare enten på engelsk eller norsk.

Takk skal du ha!

[jlan]

Google translate has probably given you these "positive problemene". I suggest you change to "positive saker" or "positive erfaringer".

I really have no negative except a few boring charging stops. The most positive I think is that the climate system can be kept running while the car is parked - even indoor. For instance  pre-heating, ferry trips, or the latest re-invention here in Bergen - drive in cinema.

[Pallesnekkern]

By far, the biggest issue with electric cars, is how to charge it up if you live in a place without a private parking spot. (or you are not able to have a plug at this spot).  You need to have reliable daily charging to enjoy an EV.  This is a difficult problem to solve.

Number 2 is to have enough fast chargers when you drive long distance.  Occupied or broken chargers are a bigger problem than range anxiety. I think this problem will almost solve itself when most people get cars with 500-600km practical range and we get even faster chargers.

Number 3. Being able to buy cars that are big enough for a family at a reasonable price.

Positives :
Perfect drivetrain. No more slow and jerky gearboxes and start/stop systems
One-pedal driving is fantastic when you get used to it.
Preheat/cool the cabin using electricity only.
Full tank of electrons every morning.

[Trekkoppbil]

It is an issue about freedom of movement

[lilleblå]

The biggest concern for not driving all EVs is for me the lack of trailer hook. I MUST have a trailer hook, and the Tesla model X is way to expensive. Hence I have a bigger diesel powered car as my #1 car.

Norwegians uses trailers much more than an average European, and very many cars usually have trailer hooks. For every car I have bought the last 15 years a trailer hook was an absolute need.

The trailer hook that Hyundai Kona might get is still to weak. Only 750 kgs. I must have at least the possibility to tow 1500 kgs.

But we have a #2 car: Renault Zoe EV with true reach about 250 kms on highway (100 km/h). That car is now driven much more than the diesel car, but I can not get rid of the diesel car yet.

To answer your questions:

Positives:
- Cheap to drive (I save almost 9 NOK - 0,94 EUR - per 10 km compared to my diesel car just in fuel.)
- Cheap to buy compared to fuel cars (no tax on EVs in Norway)
- Low cost services
- Few things that can go wrong (less parts)
- Easy to drive. Very relaxing.
- No exhaust (my young boy pointed that out yesterday)
- Very often EVs have higher equipment standards than fuel cars
- Less noise inside the car
- Cheaper insuranse
- Very low road tax

Negatives:
- Few EVs have long reach yet (mine has true 250 km, and it's ok in the daily life, but not on longer trips)
- EVs take longer to "refuel"
- We have so many EVs now, that we have queing by the chargers. Especially on typical travel days.
- Few EVs have a trailer hook that can tow real stuff
- We don't know the real value of a car after say 5 years (value decrease)
- Uses a lot of the "reach" to just heat the car in the winter
- Can not fix things myself (even when the car gets older)

[Elbil fundamentalist]

I never go back to fossil car. Maybe leisure veterans like an old aircooled Porsche 911. I usually was a true petrolhead, but when you get used to instant tork and good accelleration you just don't like the loud fossil engin struggling and screams like a pig at full power and «nothing» happens in comparence with our Tesla. Even our car number 2 the Nissan Leaf beats the crap out of normal fossils. Electric cars is Car2.0 and fossils feel so old and outdated. Disadvantage is that car magazins has became total boring and uniteresting. Even article ablut electric cars is somehow boring because its ofthent focused from a fossil perspective and full og errors and creates problem about electric cars that are unrelevant and meny times directly wrong.

Disadvantage is charging time, but charging stops give you extra rest, and I think that this is a really good thing for road safety.

Good thing is that I'm much more focused on klimat problems and clean elecricity.

[engolf]

The biggest issue for me is the practicality, the charging cord for example: It should be integrated in the car as retractable unit. Pull out, connect, then push the button and it retracts.
The second one is the battery: it should be possible to connect an range extrender, for example an extra battary with few kw/h in the trunk with a simple snap on connection.

[Osloensis]

Worst issues with electric cars:
1.   Becoming spoilt.
Using a fossil fueled car has become extremely unsatisfying. The motor annoys me considerably more now than before. Even when it comes to completely new cars. Think tram vs bus.
I almost gets a heart attack when I have to use a fossil car, and then sees the price for tanking. (Both in Norway and abroad).
I get so used to using almost any lane, that I forget myself and sometimes drive in the bus lane when driving a fossil fueled car.

2.   Getting lazy
Since electric cars don't send out any polluting exhausts, I don't feel so bad about using a car for short trips. This means that I tend to use the car (instead of a bike or a wheelchair) to go even less than 1-2 km away.
Even though deep down, I know that it is every bit as dangerous for pedestrians and cyclists as a fossil car, and it does sound-pollute, especially its wheels and parking sensors.

3.   Trips abroad
I am afraid to drive to the Continent since their fast charging systems are such a hazzle (like having to get physical charging cards in advance, relatively few quick charge stations many places, few slow chargers etc).

4.   Waiting time
Doubling (or tripling) the traveling time since chargers are out of order, people let their car occupy the only charging station while they are out shopping (and their battery painstakingly goes from 97 to 98% in 12 minutes). Impossible to slow charge when out and about because many chargers are occupied by cars that don't even charge.

5.   Winters not that funny
With a net battery of 22,6kW (?), and  5-7 m3 to heat up, winter driving can get a bit nerve wrecking to certain places far away from the electricity grid, and it gets cold if you need to drive some distance. Passengers seem a bit incredulous when they get a blanket instead of a well heated interior. More slow charging points would help in this aspect. On the other hand, it means less unnecessary consumption. 

6.   Time wasted on reading about cars
I spend way too much time now reading about cars and car forums like this one. Pretty sure I wouldn't have bothered if I had a fossil fueled car.


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Positive issues with electric cars:
1.   Minimizing negative impact when I actually need to drive:
I know cycling behind me isn't particularly uncomfortable.
I don't feel guilty when driving by a kindergarten in February. No fumes from me destroying small, vulnerable lungs.

2.   Simple
Home charging is really simple. The cars have few parts that one needs to worry about (clutch, timing belt, ...)

3.   Driving becomes a fun competition/game
I enjoy figuring out how to use as little battery as possible when driving. I have become more aware of the instant consumption when I drive fossil fueled cars as well.

4.   Really fast acceleration up to 30 km/h
Easy to get into roundabouts even with lots of traffic.
The childish pleasure of making your minivan leaving behind streamlined Audis, BMWs and Porsches when the light turns green.   

5.   Perks in Oslo/Norway
Living in Oslo, an electric car is way cheaper to use, with free tolls, free parking, even free electricity if you are lucky enough to get a charging spot.
And it is a real time saver, since we can drive in the bus/taxi lane. I am amazed at how many new fossil fueled cars stand stamping in the regular line. (I know we will probably be thrown out of the bus lanes in a not too distant future, but at the moment, I enjoy the perk). Also, it makes me less stressed, since I don't have to worry if a lane will turn into a bus lane. 

6.   Enjoyable rides!
It is simply wonderful to drive an electric car, and passengers often marvel at how nice and smooth it feels.