I went to Norway to see an electric vehicle paradise, but I found something more surprising
We often hear about how Norway is an electric car utopia, an example of a country that went all in on EVs and reaped the benefits. And so I went there myself to see what all the fuss was about. I expected to find a massive amount of electric cars, and I did. But what I didn’t realize was that those electric cars are only a part of the bigger story behind Norway’s sustainable transportation ambitions.
It’s true that electric cars are an important part of the story. Norway is the definitive world leader in EVs.
The country holds the title of most electric vehicles per capita and is on track to reach its goal of no more ICE vehicle sales after 2025. In fact, it’s actually ahead of schedule.
It didn’t happen overnight, but the conversion was still surprisingly quick. A decade ago, electric cars represented less than 3% of all car sales. Now they’re over 80%.
Plug-in hybrids account for more than 10% of the country’s new vehicle sales, meaning that purely ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicles are now in the single digits. It’s not hard to see the writing on the wall: Those ICE-powered cars will soon go extinct in Norway.
Norway’s ability to replace pollution-spewing vehicles with emissions-free electric vehicles is impressive in its own right, but there’s so much more to this story than meets the eye as I discovered on my trip.
Check it out in my video below, showing off Norway’s transformation (and showing off how beautiful the country truly is).
So how did the country achieve such an impressive and quick transformation?
Through a process of social and economic incentives designed to make EVs more affordable and more desirable while simultaneously disincentivizing ICE-powered vehicles.
Norway provided incentives such as free tolls, free parking, and tax exemptions to promote zero-emission vehicles. Taxes on zero-emission vehicles were reduced while taxes on polluting vehicles were increased.
As EV adoption soared, the country rolled out an extensive charging network. There are more than 5,600 fast chargers stretching 1,700 km (1,050 miles) from the north of the arctic circle to the southern tip of Norway.
While most people charge their EVs at home, you can still find public Level 2 chargers and DC fast chargers all over the country. Even as I toured around the arctic circle, I could still spot plentiful chargers. In beautiful, sunny Florida, I could find myself hurting for a charger, but north of the arctic circle, Norway has so many that you might trip over them.
And that’s green electricity too. The country produces over 90% of its electricity from hydroelectric power. Nearly all of the rest comes from wind power. Norway is a leading producer of oil (which comes with its own concerns), but it’s nearly all exported.
In fact, basically every time I got in a vehicle, it was electric.
The shuttle van for the hotel was electric. The taxis were electric. The boats and ferries were electric.
The first nonelectric vehicle I found was a snowmobile, and taking a ride in that only underscored the beauty of electric vehicles. My wife and I rode tandem, and each time I stopped to check something out, we’d quickly be surrounded by a plume of exhaust that smelled horrible and ruined the scenic, snowy views. We’d get going again quickly to escape the fumes, only to no longer be able to talk to each other because the engine was so loud.
Electric snowmobiles exist, and I wish we had the chance to try them because that would have solved all our problems while still letting us enjoy the beauty of nature in winter around us.
Norway’s electric vehicle revolution should be praised and replicated, but it should also be viewed for what it is: not an end goal but rather a step in the right direction.
Even for Norway, this massive shift toward electric vehicles isn’t the final step in its sustainable transportation ecosystem.
The country has actually begun rolling back EV incentives in favor of reducing private vehicle ownership. Walking and cycling are being promoted in big cities like Oslo to help reduce the level of traffic and energy expenditure. It’s a concept that’s being embraced around the world as more urban residents realize how much cars ruin cities and rob public space from the people who live and work in those cities.
Norway has also paired policies that promote cycling and walking with a robust public transportation system.
In Oslo, we didn’t set foot in a taxi once, even though there were electric taxis readily available. Between the tram and buses, we were able to get everywhere we needed to go using public transit.
Electric scooters and e-bikes were also plentiful thanks to several shared micromobility companies. My wife wasn’t as keen on scooting in the ice and snow, so we skipped those options, but I might have tried it if I was alone.
And when it’s not the coldest few months of the year, those options certainly add to the vibrant alternative transportation ecosystem thriving in Norwegian cities. (To be fair, we saw plenty of Norwegians out on scooters and bikes, despite the freezing conditions.)
All of this is to say that despite coming to Norway to see an electric car utopia, we ended up discovering firsthand how much more there is to the country’s story of sustainability.
Electric cars were a crucial first step to flush out all of those polluting, gas-guzzling ICE vehicles. But that’s exactly what they were: a step. They weren’t the end goal; they were a step along the way.
The true end goal is a sustainable transportation landscape that truly serves the people in the form of diverse, efficient, and environmentally conscious options. Electric cars are part of that solution, but so are the electric trams and the efficient trains and even cycling/walking/scootering.
And all of this is happening in a country that is so cold that I was walking around with ice on my face without even noticing. If it can work there, it can work here. Wherever here is.
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It looks like electric motorcycle influencer Surronster has landed himself in trouble south of the border, based on an arrest video posted to his social media channels.
A heavily edited video posted on his Instagram page shows the controversial rider in handcuffs being led into a police vehicle by officers in Tijuana, Mexico. The reel appears to have been filmed by a companion in the influencer’s entourage. No additional context was provided in the post, and at the time of writing, details surrounding the arrest remain unclear.
The incident comes just two days after the influencer posted another update to his social media showing that he was being denied entry into Mexico with his Sur Ron electric off-road motorcycle loaded in the bed of his truck.
In the more recent clip, the Tijuana Municipal Police appear to be questioning him and an associate before handcuffing them both. An officer is seen starting to remove the influencer’s helmet, then the clip jumps to a shot of the influencer entering the back of the police truck, edited to avoid showing his unhelmeted face. Surronster has long concealed his identity, always being filmed while wearing a full-face dirt bike helmet.
Surronster has gained a large following online by pushing the limits of electric motorcycles – especially the Sur Ron Light Bee and similar lightweight electric dirt bikes. His content often shows him performing stunts, riding in traffic without a license plate, and usually on electric dirt bikes that are not street legal for use on public roads. His 1M+ following is comprised mainly of young male viewers in their teens and twenties, with many attempting to imitate the riders’ style and stunts. He has risen to become one of the leading influencers in the electric motorbike industry, all while promoting a rebellious image and racking up millions of views on social media.
That notoriety has earned him plenty of fans, but also a long line of critics. Many in the e-bike and e-moto community have called out the influencer for encouraging illegal and unsafe behavior that risks drawing increased regulation and public backlash against electric two-wheelers, not to mention the danger to young riders who may attempt to recreate his stunts. Others defend him as a thrill-seeking entertainer similar to traditional motorsport stunt riders.
A large proportion of his videos feature illegal riding activities, but his strict control over his anonymity has meant that he has effectively operated with impunity. But getting arrested in a foreign country is a serious matter, and it remains to be seen what charges – if any – he’ll face. At the time of publishing, the Tijuana Minicipal Police have not responded to a request for comment.
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Clean energy jobs surged in 2024, growing more than three times faster than the rest of the US economy and adding nearly 100,000 new positions. That brought the total clean energy workforce to 3.56 million people, according to the 10th annual Clean Jobs America report from E2.
But growth slowed compared to 2023. Amid policy uncertainty and an overall cooling economy, clean energy jobs expanded at their slowest pace since 2020, with about 50,000 fewer new jobs than the year before.
Even so, the sector still outpaced the broader economy. Solar, wind, batteries, energy efficiency, storage, and grid jobs made up more than 7% of all new US jobs last year and 82% of new energy jobs. Clean energy also takes a bigger share of the overall workforce: it now accounts for 42% of all US energy jobs and 2.3% of the total workforce. More people work in clean energy today than as nurses, cashiers, restaurant servers, or preschool through middle school teachers.
The report lands as the clean energy industry faces major headwinds. Federal policy moves have canceled projects, revoked tax credits, and added new regulatory hurdles targeting solar, wind, EVs, and more. While not yet reflected in 2024’s numbers, those actions are already hitting jobs hard. E2 found that since January 2025, companies have canceled more than $22 billion worth of clean energy factories and projects that would have created 16,500 jobs. Other analyses warn that more than 830,000 jobs could vanish under Trump’s big bill, signed on July 4.
“This was one of the hottest and most promising job sectors in the country at the end of 2024,” said E2’s executive director Bob Keefe. “Now, clean energy job growth is at serious risk – and with it, our overall economy.”
Clean energy and EV jobs have added more than 520,000 positions over the last five years, a 17% increase. That’s far more growth than fossil fuels, ICE vehicle manufacturing, or the economy overall. In fact, over the past five years, clean energy companies have added jobs 60% faster than the rest of the US economy.
Energy efficiency remains the largest employer in the sector, with nearly 2.4 million workers after adding 91,000 jobs last year. Renewable generation jobs reached 569,000 (+9,000 in 2024), while clean vehicle jobs totaled 398,000. The clean vehicle sector shrank by 12,000 jobs in 2024 due to an industry-wide decline across all vehicle sectors, but employment is still up 52% since 2020.
Regionally, the South is leading the way. More than 1 million clean energy workers are based there, and the South added 41,000 jobs in 2024. The West and Northeast each added over 20,000 jobs, and the Midwest added 13,000. At the state level, 23 states now have at least 50,000 clean energy jobs, and in all but eight states, clean energy employment outnumbers fossil fuel jobs.
“Every year, clean energy jobs become more intertwined and critical to our overall economy,” said Michael Timberlake, E2’s director of research and publications. “These jobs are now a vital anchor of America’s energy workforce. The strength of the US job market and the future of our energy economy are now inseparable from the growth of clean energy.”
Read more: $15.5B in EV, renewable projects vanish as Senate eyes rollbacks
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Genesis is turning 10, and it’s celebrating with a few big surprises. The rising luxury brand is rolling out a slate of new hybrids and EVs, including an ultra-luxe flagship SUV and off-roader.
Genesis gears up for new EVs, hybrids, and EREVs
Hyundai’s luxury brand has quickly emerged as a dark horse in the luxury market. Genesis is celebrating its 10th anniversary with a bang.
By 2030, the brand aims to sell 350,000 vehicles annually. Genesis is launching a new lineup, including its first hybrid, a new flagship SUV, an off-roader, and several performance vehicles.
Hyundai confirmed during its CEO Investor Day on Thursday that Genesis will launch several new models soon, including new EVs, hybrids, and extended-range vehicles (EREVs).
Genesis will launch its first hybrid in 2026, followed by EREVs shortly after. At least two new SUVs are set to join the lineup, a full-size flagship model and an off-roader.
Hyundai said the new luxury SUVs will be based on the Neolun and X Gran Equator concepts. Although we have yet to learn all the details, the Neolun is expected to arrive as the GV90, an “ultra-luxe,” full-size flagship electric SUV. The X Gran Equator concept is a more rugged, luxury off-road SUV.
Genesis plans to expand the brand into up to 20 European markets while strengthening its presence in the US. Those in the US will see the first hybrid Genesis vehicles roll out, starting in 2026.
The luxury brand will also launch its first EREV, which Hyundai promises will deliver over 600 miles of range by using a battery and a gas engine that acts as a backup generator.
Genesis is entering “the realm of high-performance vehicles” with its new Magma brand. The first performance model, the GV60 Magma, will arrive later this year.
In under eight years, the Genesis brand sold a total of over 1 million vehicles. Over the next few years, it’s betting on new EVs, hybrids, advanced tech, sleek designs, and more to solidify its position in the luxury space.
Hyundai is also launching new vehicles across nearly all powertrains and segments. Check out our recap of Hyundai’s CEO Investor Day to see what’s coming.
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