![]() ![]() ![]() Iceland’s biggest electric car mover and shaker is a carrot-topped guy named Gisli Gislason, the CEO of Northern Lights Energy (NLE), which has the ambitious goal of plugging in Iceland, and has already gotten a significant percentage of Iceland’s major employers to commit to both employee electric car fleets and to putting in EV charging. It’s a popular topic in the coffeehouses. Iceland has been holding an annual conference that centers on plugging in the country, so the very green citizenry is well informed on the subject. Geothermal energy is ubiquitous in Iceland, far more of a resource than the tiny population could use. Gislason says electric versions of bigger SUVs should now be at parity with their gas counterparts. The economics are even more favorable for larger vehicles, which are subject to large import duties-unless they’re electric. Overall, smaller EVs should have a 20 percent price premium. Under the old regulations, a battery car costing $47,000 in the U.S. Iceland has a VAT of 25.5 percent on new cars, the highest in the world, so this brings them tantalizingly in line with regular gasoline cars.Īll electric cars under $47,000 are now VAT free above that you pay the tax on the difference. On June 19, Iceland’s Parliament, acting on the last day before summer vacation, approved a bill to lift the value-added tax (VAT) from the first $47,000 of electric car prices. And it’s certainly better than using precious geothermal resources to make aluminum, which is what the country does now. ![]() If the country could export this resource by the kilowatt-hour, it would be as rich as Kuwait, but running transportation on domestically produced clean energy instead of hugely expensive imported petroleum is the next best step. "There is little range anxiety for EV buyers and no problem with electricity generation," reports Cars UK. The country is about the size of Kentucky, so long-distance travel isn't much of an issue. ![]() Because of its huge reserves of both hydro and geothermal energy, electricity is practically free in Iceland. I've been keeping a close watch on the place, but up to now it's all been embryonic. Iceland? You mean that tiny island nation out in the north Atlantic somewhere with a population of 319,000 and a bankrupt economy? That’s the one. (photo courtesy of Gisli Gislason)Īnd so, I’m thinking Iceland. A big order for the Model S could be in the offing. Gisli Gislason (left) with Tesla's Elon Musk. The American market needs the excitement a new Tesla can bring. The Tesla Model S goes on sale this week, and that should juice things up a bit. is the leading deployment country right now, but we’re so far seeing a trickle, not a mighty flow. I’m sure I wasn’t the only person fascinated by a China-connected consortium buying the remains of Saab. China is universally seen as the great hope for the future, given its enormous subsidies and determination on the subject, but right now there’s only a handful of cars on the road. EVs are expensive in Europe, and there are other green choices-like subsidized clean diesels. But then EVs actually went on sale there and consumers reacted with indifference. Which country will be the first to plug in with an all-electric transportation grid? Some of smart money was on Western Europe because of its strict greenhouse gas regulations. ![]()
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