Simon Kuper’s piece in FT Weekend (“Electric cars are not the future”, Opinion, January 20) was, as always, interesting and full of facts but left me wondering why he omitted the arguments in favour of the electric car. To my surprise his account didn’t mention the example of Norway, where electric vehicles are taking over the market, due to a range of incentives like driving in bus lanes.
In 2023 alone, 82 per cent of all new private cars sold were electric. Electric vehicles now constitute a quarter of the total private vehicle fleet. In 2016, the percentage was 5.8 per cent. The development is explosive. From 2025 there will be a ban on selling new fossil fuel-powered cars in Norway. Such developments cannot be ignored.
Harald N Røstvik
Professor Emeritus, Sustainable City Planning
University of Stavanger, Norway
