Sweden has already declared that it will be the first fossil free modern state. In June, it set itself the impressive goal of reducing GHG emissions from transport by 70% over by 2030. In this story we Mundus explores the steps the government had taken so far this year in pursuit of its goal. The widespread switching to electric vehicles is likely to play a crucial part in achieving that aim, and the article examines where Sweden is now and the steps it needs to take to drive the mass movement from petrol and diesel to electric cars.

Background

One only has to look back five years ago when the then-bankrupt Swedish car maker Saab was bought by Chinese company NEVS to understand how much the car market has changed. Back then there were fewer than 2,000 electric cars on the road in Sweden. Now there are more than 33,000, and sales are up 49% this year. The share of electric vehicles sold this year is 4.3%, the third highest proportion in Europe, behind Iceland and Norway. This is set to grow higher, with the government introducing new incentives.

Due to its small population Sweden is not near the top of the global charts when it comes to the total number of electric vehicles, but it is one of the countries leading the way when it comes to the percentage of cars being bought which are electric.