A week with Global EV Champions Exchanging ideas on how to boost EV adoption
With over 90 % of new car sales being EV’s, Norway might be an ideal starting point for discussions on EV-adoption. This is why 20 EV-advocates from 11 countries gathered in Oslo to exchange ideas and strategies on accelerating EV-uptake.
The backdrop of the visit in Oslo is both dramatic and optimistic.
Firstly, according to UN «current national climate plans fall miles short of what’s needed to stop global heating». Additionally according to The International Energy Agency road transport accounts for over 15 % of the energi-related emissions in the world.
However, many countries are witnessing strong growth in the sales of electric veichles, with Norway being one of the countries in lead.
The big question for the participants during their visit to Oslo and the Norwegian EV Association were, how can we accelerate EV adoption by learning from other countries?
About The Global Week of EV Champions
Gathered in Oslo were people from Brazil, India, Mexico, US, Indonesia, Chile, South Africa, Kenya, Colombia, Costa Rica and Norway, each representing organizations who aim to accelerate their national EV-uptake.
The program lasted for one week and included presentation, in-depth experience sharing, site visits and dicussions on EV-policies as well as attending The Nordic EV Summi hosted by The Norwegian EV Association and Nova Spektrum.
The week in Oslo was a part of the Norwegian EV Association’s international project that aims to leapfrog the transition to EVs in emerging markets, by sharing best practices and building capacity to promote political solutions.
The project is funded by ClimateWorks Foundation through their Drive Electric Campaign.
How policies changed the game
Early during the programme, the group visited the Norwegian Parliament and met with Member of Parliament Ola Elvestuen from The Liberal Party.
It’s no coincidence that political meetings were among the first on the visitor’s agenda. Political measures have been a crucial in the EV-uptake in Norway.
During the visit to the Parliament, Elvestuen explained how EU supply-side regulation have been important for providing the Norwegian market with EV’s.
But also how Norwegian politicians, for decades, have implemented demand-side policies. This include taxing polluting cars, while simultaneously giving EV’s exemptions from both VAT and taxes.
This has led to EV’s becomming the first choice for new car buyers. In April 2025, EV’s had a market share of 97 percentage.
– While we got to see the progress on the streets of Oslo, it was also enlightening to hear from government, in this case a meeting with member of parliament on why, and how, the Norwegian government created an enabling environment over the years towards reaching the 2025 goal of 100% zero emission vehicle for new car sale, says Hiten Parmar from South-Africa
Parmar is Executive Director of the Electric MISSION in South Africa, and Co-founder of the South African Electric Mobility Association (SAEMA).
Challenging the car industry
The participants also attended the Nordic EV Summit, the leading conference and exhibition for e-mobility in the nordics.
During the summit some participants met with Martin Sander, Board Member for Sales, Marketing, and After Sales at Volkswagen.
Although Volkswagen is a popular car brand in Norway, offering the market multiple EV models, the situation is different in other parts of the world.
In Brazil, for example, Volkswagen continues to lose market share to Chinese car brands.
– Brazil and VW have a long history of 72 years together. In all these years, the German automaker has always been in the top 3 for auto sales, because Brazilians like the brand and trust the company, says Diogo Sexias.
Sexias is president of ABRAVEi, an organization for EV drivers in Brazil, was one of the participants who had a brief conversation with Sander from Volkswagen.
In the conversation he conveyed a clear message:
– In the last few years, VW is lagging behind when it comes to EV’s. They chose not to bring their portfolio of Electric Vehicles into Brazil and focus on polluting combustion vehicles instead, he says.
– The frustrating part of all this is that we see VW make market green EV’s all over Europe and North America, but somehow chose to leave us with the dirty old ICE, says Diogo Sexias from ABRAVEi in Brazil.
Electric city tour
The program also included a guided tour of Oslo’s city center.
Sture Portvik, Manager of Electric Mobility in the Agency for Urban Environment showed the guests the city’s electric ferries, as well as various charging facilities, such as an underground parking facility were you can charge your car and a fast charging station.
– Walking around Oslo, it was striking to see the high level of electric vehicle penetration—not just in terms of private cars, but also taxis, delivery vans, and even city buses and especially ferries. It shows what’s possible when infrastructure, incentives, policy and community engagement all align., says Sarika Panda Bhatt.
Bhatt is co-founder and trustee in Raahgiri Foundation in India. The foundation in a non-profit trust working to improve the quality of life in India’s cities and towns.
Portvik also explained to the participants how local policies are designed to support electrification.
Sarika Panda Bhatt was impressed of what they achieved in Oslo:
– What stood out to me was how Norway has moved beyond just road transport. The shift to electric ferries and boats is a remarkable example of how the transition to clean mobility can be comprehensive and inclusive of multiple modes, she says.
Among several measures, Oslo offer discount for EVs passing the toll roads and has a local support scheme for the installation of chargers in the parking garage in apartment buildings.
Despite having incentives aimed at electric private cars, the city administration has succedded in preventing traffic from growing and keeping public transport the backbone of the transport system.
And of course…
Hiten Parmar from South Africa found the week in Oslo inspiring:
– The emerging economies initiative provided key learnings and experiences from Norway as it reached 98% of new car sales as zero emission vehicles, he says.
And even though it was a busy week with a lot of programme, there is always time, when electric car enthusiasts visit each other, to also experience EV’s in real life:
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