Sales of electric cars have collapsed
mbl.is/Eyþór
New registrations of electric passenger cars in Iceland were about 76% fewer in the first half of 2022 than in the same period last year. This can be read from the figures from the Icelandic Transport Authority when looking at only electric cars.
This is a big shift between years. Last year saw a historic year in sales of electric vehicles in Iceland, with 3,100 Tesla Model Y models sold, among other sales. This was a record-breaking year for selling cars, electric or otherwise, with the previous record set in 1988 when over 1,200 Toyota Corollas were registered.
However, sales of other cars are now rising again, with 43% more gas- and diesel vehicles sold than electric vehicles and 53% more diesel vehicles than electric vehicles.
The tide has turned
The director of Brimborg, Egill Jóhannsson, says it is safe to say that the sales of electric vehicles have collapsed.
According to him, the government’s special measures involving electric cars have reduced their sales and he lists eight government measures in the last two years that have gone against electric car sales and have been rather in favor of gasoline and diesel car sales.
Can have the effect of raising fuel prices
He also argues that lower sales of electric cars could indirectly encourage the use of additives in petrol and diesel in the coming years. This could lead to higher fuel prices.
“Because we’ve messed up the energy exchange in road transport, the additive route will have to be used much more than would otherwise have been necessary for the government to meet its climate goals. So gasoline and diesel will have to be mixed hugely in the coming years, which means a substantial increase in fuel prices because these are expensive additives. This is something that managers of companies with large fleets of cars should consider.”
