How pop band A-ha inspired Norway's electric car revolution

Norway is miles up of the UK erstwhile it comes to electrical cars and overmuch of its aboriginal pb is acknowledgment to an improbable collaboration betwixt biology activists and the popular radical A-ha.

Back successful the 1980s, 2 starring lights successful the Nordic biology question were pushing for electrical conveyance (EV) exertion but it conscionable wasn't being noticed.

But past they recruited the country's biggest popular radical to assistance propulsion the contented into the mainstream.

A-ha were 1 of the astir fashionable bands successful the satellite aft planetary hits specified arsenic Take connected Me and the Sun Always Shines connected TV.

They adjacent recorded the taxable tune to the 1987 James Bond movie The Living Daylights.

Together, the campaigners and the radical went to Bern successful Switzerland to be the Tour de Sol accumulation successful 1989.

Here they saw a Fiat Panda which had been converted from petrol to electricity.

They imported a akin car into Norway and utilized the archetypal modern-day EV connected the country's road's to motorboat a run of civilian disobedience, making a constituent astir however it needed to clasp an alternate to polluting fossil substance vehicles.

They racked up fines arsenic they drove the car done toll booths, parked illegally and refused to wage conveyance taxes, arguing that this caller signifier of sustainable transport should beryllium escaped of these levies successful bid to marque it much attractive.

A-ha's pb vocalist Morten Harket told BBC Disclosure: "I didn't consciousness similar I was entering into the relation of a rebel really. I realised that that's what it was but it was conscionable necessary.

"It was what we needed to do. And it conscionable made each sense, you know?"

The Fiat Panda's rear seats had been removed to make capable abstraction to store the array of batteries it needed to powerfulness it but its scope was constricted to conscionable 28 miles and it took 48 hours to recharge.

The thought was the brainchild of Prof Harald N. Rostvik, from the University of Stavanger, who said that astatine the clip radical were conscionable laughing astatine him.

He said: "It was hard adjacent to pass what we were talking astir due to the fact that determination was not a connection similar 'sustainability'.

"The thought was to embarrass the authorities to the grade that lone a twelvemonth aft we archetypal drove the car they started implementing the world's champion incentives, that we had demanded."

The incentives included allowing EVs to thrust successful autobus lanes, escaped parking, escaped ferry question and zero tax.

Frederic Hauge, laminitis of the biology foundation Bellona Foundation, said: "Before we did this with importing the electrical car together, it was lone focusing connected the problems.

"This was 1 of the archetypal topics precise focused connected the solution.

"It took a year, to pave the roadworthy with this small Fiat Panda for the regulations successful Norway."

In fact, the run went connected for astir 7 years until each the incentives were adopted.

The car was impounded by the authorities and bought backmost by supporters astatine slightest a twelve times.

But they consciousness it was important that Norway led the mode successful decarbonising travel.

Since the mid-1970s Norway has go 1 of the richest lipid producing nations successful the world.

The state has a sovereign wealthiness money worthy astir £1trillion built up from the proceeds of its oilfields to enactment arsenic a "pension fund" for erstwhile it runs out.

Fellow A-ha subordinate Magne Furuholmen said: "Our hands are achromatic from the lipid that we got to affluent off.

"I deliberation we transportation a definite work of being successful front, starring the way, for that reason.

"That that small car paved the mode for escaped parking successful the metropolis for electrical cars with charging stations, and nary paying astatine the toll booth."

Prof Rostvik said Norway was present a antithetic place.

There are present much than fractional a cardinal EVs successful the state which has a colonisation of conscionable 5.4 million.

Scotland, a state of the aforesaid size, has astir 50,000 EVs, 1 tenth the number.

In the archetypal fractional of 2022, 78% of caller car income successful Norway were axenic electric.

The state intends to prohibition the merchantability of caller petrol and diesel cars by 2025 which is 5 years up of the UK.

And they are optimistic astir the future.

Prof Rostvik said: "Now, 33 years later, we are the grown-ups, and we person kids, each of us, and we person a work to our ain families, and to our ain nation, and to the planetary community."

Harket is besides optimistic astir the future.

"The satellite lone looks the mode it does contiguous due to the fact that we support it that way," helium said.

"Because the upkeep of however we bash things, however we spell astir things, it tin alteration precise accelerated if we take to change."