We present and discuss evidence on electric-vehicle rollout in The Netherlands and Norway, two forerunners in this area. We demonstrate that the uptake of electric vehicles is essentially driven by financial and other benefits offered to their owners, and that a partial electrification of the vehicle fleet may be achieved even with limited public charging infrastructure; indeed, infrastructure has tended to follow the development of electric vehicles. The impact on the electricity industry in general and electricity networks in particular has so far been limited, even given the relatively high penetration of electric vehicles.
Authors: Fridrik M. Baldursson, Nils-Henrik M. von der Fehr, and Ewa Lazarczyk