Latest news with #Volkswagen
Auto Car
6 hours ago
- Automotive
- Auto Car
The new Ford Explorer is based on a Volkswagen - so can it wear the Blue Oval with pride?
Open gallery There's enough Ford magic to make the origins of its platform a moot point Blue plaque at Trafford Centre commemorates Ford's factory on the site Explorer's official 354 miles and 3.4mpkWh didn't seem unduly optimistic Explorer was comfortable and supple, but road noise can intrude at times Steve's simple plan turned into a long day Heritage collection in Daventry is nirvana for fans of the Blue Oval Close It was a bright, beautiful April Fool's Day. At 6.30am, a magnificent golden orb lit the eastern horizon with a brilliance we probably won't see more than a dozen times this year. The breeze was sweet and the air so clear you could practically see blades of grass on the horizon. Despite the beleaguered state of the retail motor industry, the news feeds were already filling with car companies' traditional April Fool spoofs: a free tattoo for every new Volkswagen owner, BMW to launch an off-road version of the M2 – that sort of thing. And in Manchester, the Volkswagen ID 4 in which I was about to cross the country had turned into a Ford. To be fair, we've known for years that Ford was basing its first all-European electric cars – the Explorer and the Capri – on the VW Group's excellent and well-proven MEB platform, the same component set used to underpin the ID 3 and ID 4. This was undoubtedly a pragmatic decision, given that Ford urgently needs to do better in the European EV race. And despite a nine-month production delay, the project is turning into a modest – if not yet profitable – success. Selfishly speaking, Ford's MEB decision didn't suit me. Outside the limits of the impartiality needed to be a fair-minded road tester, I'm a Ford fan: my grandfather was a pioneering Ford dealer in the Australian bush, we had lots of family Fords and my first new car was a Cortina 1600E. My view of Ford is that it may make everyman cars, but it also does things first – such as the life-changing Model T, the first affordable V8, unitary steel construction, MacPherson struts, the original Mustang, the GT40, the first 'computer-designed' Cortina, all those fast Escorts and much, much more. I simply didn't enjoy the notion of a me-too European Ford based on a rival manufacturer's mainstream product. Especially a Volkswagen. After all, it's not so long since the glorious, game-changing Ford Focus was forcing all comers – and most prominently Ferdinand Piëch's Mk5 VW Golf – to ride, steer and handle better to meet a much-elevated industry standard. When James Attwood's 2025 Ford Explorer long-termer – a £50k, two-wheel-drive long-range model – arrived a few weeks ago, it became clear it was high time for me to get over myself. Especially since Attwood had pronounced it a good machine, distinct from the various VW Group models with the same underpinnings. A workable plan seemed to be to immerse the Explorer – and myself – in as much Ford heritage as we could find in a day, to see how well it fitted. Or how well it didn't. The simple plan was to take it on a day-long journey starting at Trafford Park, Manchester, where Henry Ford made 300,000 Model Ts for his first 20 years of British business from 1911, before moving to Dagenham in the early 1930s and turning the Manchester place over to the manufacture of Rolls-Royce Merlin aero engines during the war years. From there, we would roll across the country to Ford's heritage centre at Daventry, to associate the Explorer with as many of its ancestors as possible under the eye of curator Len Keen. Then we'd continue south-east to Dunton, the research centre that nowadays doubles as Ford's British HQ, ending our journey beside a statue of the founder, Old Henry, erected at Dagenham in 1944 and now overlooking Dunton's main entrance. This drive would be typically British: plenty of motorway, plenty of potholes, some sinuous A- and B-roads and some recharging episodes, with all the parking and service area manoeuvring this involved. Photographer Jack and I arrived in Manchester the night before our journey was to begin, hoping that an unsuccessful meeting with a steam-driven 22kW Geniepoint charger outside our otherwise-comfortable Trafford hotel wasn't an omen of things to follow. For no good reason it wouldn't function, which meant our journey couldn't begin with a full tank, as it were. One thing the hotel did have, bizarrely, was a parking line of about a dozen used, obviously recently imported Yankee cars for sale via eBay. Evidently the vendor was using the hotel car park for selling. We photographed our Explorer beside a US-market Explorer of a very different persuasion, wondering at Ford's tendency to spread familiar names over models of different characters and layouts. Before departure the following morning, I rang the Geniepoint helpline to report the charger failure on behalf of other arriving hopefuls, to be greeted by a polite woman with a voice full of concern, who reset the charger there and then. I watched it click into action, but its charge rate was too slow to justify our waiting. Still, it was a good sign: even when you're talking duff chargers, EV life is getting better. The only sign these days of Ford's former presence at Trafford Park is a blue plaque in one of the many entrance halls of the Trafford Centre, a staggeringly huge and spacious multi-storey mall of satisfyingly appropriate American influence. We found and read the plaques, then jumped back in the car and headed hot-foot for the open road, hooking up after a mile or two with the M6 motorway. Our immediate destination, 40 miles on, was the Sandbach service area and a reassuring bank of a dozen Instavolt chargers that converted our 35% of battery capacity to 85% at a rate of 85kW in the time it took us to drink a couple of cappuccinos. It was pricey, mind, at 89p per kWh. Ford's Daventry heritage base – also a massive parts store and the site of the Henry Ford Academy where technicians further their skills – was now an easy 92 miles away. The car was doing unobtrusively well. It turns out to be a composed cruiser with long-distance seats and sweet steering that's notably accurate at the straight-ahead and thus not tiring for longer journeys. There's not much road noise on smooth stuff but, like many German-developed cars, it gets noisy on the coarse surfaces that are much more prevalent here in the UK than they are elsewhere in Europe. We cruised at around 70mph on the speedo (knock off 2mph for built-in error) because we soon established that at this speed, with a little care, you could turn 3.5mpkWh – the claimed WLTP figure; cruising just a shade quicker caused the figure to fall to 3.1-3.2mpkWh. You become aware of the exponential rise of aero drag with speed so much sooner in an EV than you do in a petrol car. A slightly lower speed and consequent better consumption can add 10-15 miles to the range you get from a 50kW charge while making no important difference to your journey time (this point proved by my own assiduous observations of sat-nav arrival predictions). I was clocking such esoterics as Jack drove, proving himself expert at seeing interesting traffic ('Did you spot that new Corvette?'), which added a lot to the interest of our progress. With miles, the Ford grew on us both. It seemed supple and comfortable, and we negated the sometime road noise by raising our voices when necessary. Neither of us was truly expert on how this chassis compared with a VW version, but our background impression (confirmed later by Attwood) was that the ride was a bit softer yet well damped and composed. This was another good Ford sign. So was the styling: I was liking the blocky, well-proportioned shape. We stayed an hour in Daventry, mainly because Len Keen and his two technician colleagues, Chris and Andy, were so welcoming. The Ford heritage collection brilliantly combines perfect examples of ordinary models with hero cars driven by Hannu Mikkola, Roger Clark and a dozen other road and track stars. They also continue to preserve the Autocar-badged M-Sport Fiesta ST in which then staffer Chris Harris won his class in Wales Rally GB 20 years ago (which had an echo for me; I watched him do it). Photographer Jack, compact of build, amused us with his claim to be the one bloke in our group who could perfectly fit Ford's beautiful silver GT40, the road-going model with wire wheels and three-eared knock-offs, that was sized for Walter Hayes, the legendary communications chief whose determination and strong influence with the Ford family led to the creation of the Ford DFV racing V8, surely the most successful Formula 1 engine in history. On we drove through the afternoon towards Dunton in Essex, spearing east from Daventry on the evocative A45 that links half a dozen defunct British car factories (including Jaguar at Browns Lane and various British Leyland places south of Coventry). This road also doubled for a while as a test track for 1950s Le Mans Jaguars. One story has it that Jag founder Sir William Lyons well understood the need for fast shakedowns on weekdays, but frowned on the idea of high-speed testing on a Sunday… As we drove, this Ford was taking hold of me. Its composure was starting to remind me of Parry-Jones-era Fords, one of which (a Mondeo) I'd driven quite a lot just a few weeks before. This felt like a European Ford, which is a compliment. In particular it was different in composure terms from the US-developed Ford Mustang Mach-E, whose engineers have just about managed to tame a pitching motion in steady-state cruising, after years of trying. This EV had overtones of Ford's European golden age. At Dunton, Henry Ford was waiting. We arrived just before knock-off time at 4pm, which means the cornering shots we did on the entrance roundabout (see above) were a bit unhelpful to the departing workforce. In all, we notched 230 miles at an average speed of 54mph, consuming power at 3.5mpkWh – a very decent performance. The car's economy and its real-world range were honest figures, in line with the maker's claims. Best of all it felt and looked like a Ford, and not a Volkswagen. In one enjoyable day, the ghosts were laid to rest. 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Time of India
6 hours ago
- Automotive
- Time of India
Volkswagen flags 'massive' US investments and says tariff talks constructive
Volkswagen wants to make more big investments in the United States, CEO Oliver Blume said in an interview with a German newspaper on Friday, adding that tariff talks with the U.S. government were "fair" and "constructive". Several foreign companies have announced U.S. investments in response to President Donald Trump's import tariffs, but German carmakers have been more cautious about committing more resources to what is their biggest export market. Volkswagen's Audi brand, which has no production in the United States, is planning to produce some models in there, although the brand has said that the plan pre-dates the Trump administration. "So far, we have had absolutely fair, constructive discussions," Blume told Sueddeutsche Zeitung. "I was in Washington myself and we have been in regular dialogue ever since." Blume, who also leads Porsche AG as CEO, said Volkswagen's main contact in Washington was U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, adding he had agreed to keep any details of the discussions confidential. Sources told Reuters earlier this week that German carmakers including Volkswagen were in talks with Washington over a possible import tariff deal, seeking to use their U.S. investments and exports as leverage to soften any blow. Trump's trade war has cost companies more than $34 billion in lost sales and higher costs, according to a Reuters analysis of corporate disclosures, with companies pursuing various strategies to cope. Most of the tariffs were blocked by a U.S. trade court this week, but a federal appeals court has temporarily reinstated them to consider the Trump administration's appeal against the trade court's ruling. The 25% tariff imposed on auto imports earlier this year has not been affected by the rulings. Uncertainty worse than tariffs In a recent survey by Germany's Machinery and Equipment Manufacturers Association (VDMA), nearly three quarters of participants said uncertainty over U.S. trade policy had a strong impact on companies' competitiveness, while just 43% said the same for the 10% tariffs slapped on goods from most U.S. trading partners. "The uncertainty surrounding the U.S. tariffs is causing more problems in our sector than the tariffs themselves," Andrew Adair, VDMA's trade policy adviser for North America, told Reuters. "Uncertainty causes customers to delay purchasing decisions-including American companies that are motivated to purchase machinery to ramp up their local production." Asked what Blume was offering in the talks, which aim to reduce the 25% autos levy, he said: "The Volkswagen Group wants to invest further in the USA. We have a growth strategy." Blume said the Volkswagen Group already employed over 20,000 people directly and over 55,000 people indirectly in the United States, and highlighted a $5.8 billion investment in U.S. company Rivian. "We would build on this with further, massive investments," Blume said. Such investments should be factored into any decisions regarding tariffs, added Blume, who said he hoped Brussels and Washington would reach a broad deal for all industries. Blume declined to say when a deal with Washington could be struck, when asked about BMW CEO Oliver Zipse's assessment that tariffs would likely fall from July.
The Sun
7 hours ago
- Automotive
- The Sun
Major car brand reveals dramatically redesigned hatchback – 30 years after it was pulled from sale
SKODA has shown off a radical, retro-futurist look for the classic Favorit hatchback - a beloved motor that ran from 1987 to 1995. The Volkswagen-owned marque says they've 'drawn inspiration from the brand's rich history to create a modern interpretation' of the little motor, which was once a regular on UK roads. 4 4 4 4 Indeed, some 50,000 units sold in the UK in a six-year run, although a report from MSN found that just 232 were still on the road by December 2016 and were disappearing fast, according to a report by MSN. This re-design imagines the Favorit as a modern EV but still manages to capture the essence of the original - thanks to the handiwork of designer Ljudmil Slavov. Skoda says he spent some 120 hours of his own time to work on the project - with a view to retaining the feel of the 1980s hatchback. He said: 'From today's perspective, I think the Favorit was already a kind of Modern Solid. 'It was technically and visually a simple car meant for the general public.' He also wanted to attempt something that went against the grain on today's general look and feel. 'I wanted to update the original idea for today, when various SUVs are popular,' said Slavov. He added: 'I sketched many versions, searched for the ideal shape of the grille and headlights, tried different perspectives and consulted a lot with colleagues.' His design for the Favorit is clean and simple while containing some iconic elements of the original model, along with some interesting touches. These include an asymmetrical badge, a single door handle embedded into the body for both the front and rear, ultra-simplistic four-spoke wheels, illuminated 'Skoda' badging at the rear, as well as slim LED lights all round. Power-packed Skoda Octavia vRS is perfect combo of performance & practicality However, fans will have to use their imaginations for the car's interior, although the seats' headrests reference the open-centred items on the original Favorit. Slavov also designed a rally version - inspired by the Favorit that found success in the World Rally Championship's second-tier class in the early 1990s. This version of the Favorit joins a series of reimaginings by Skoda's designers, which has recently shown new takes on the 1203 van, Voiturette A, Felica Cabriolet, 130RS and Popular Monte Carlo.
Daily Mail
8 hours ago
- Automotive
- Daily Mail
Win for Trump as VW pledges 'massive' investment in US jobs… to build controversial cars
Volkswagen's CEO confirmed the company is looking to make a 'massive' US investment in an attempt to avoid tariff blowback. Oliver Blume, VW's top boss, said he has been in contact with members of the Trump administration, including US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. His strategy to shield VW from steep tariff costs appears two-fold: maintain open communication with US officials and continue ramping up investment in American businesses. 'Our primary contact is the US Secretary of Commerce, but ultimately, the issues also go through the US President's desk,' Blume told Süddeutsche Zeitung, a German newspaper. 'So far, we've experienced absolutely fair, constructive discussions.' Blume also said Volkswagen plans to continue its heavy investment in Rivian, an American electric vehicle startup that has not been without controversy. VW first announced its partnership with Rivian in June 2024, and completed the initial $1 billion investment in November. The deal gave Rivian a critical infusion of cash, and gave Volkswagen access to Rivian's next-generation infotainment software and electrical architecture. Both companies have said they're happy with the collaboration and are preparing for a second phase of investment more than $4 billion through 2026. Speaking to the German paper, Blume doubled-down on that cash promise, saying his company 'intends to continue investing in the US' including 'further, massive investments' in Rivian. For years, Volkswagen has leaned heavily into modernizing its vehicle interiors. Models across the brand — including entry-level Jetta sedans and high-end Atlas SUVs — were revamped with digital sliders and complicated infotainment screens. Often, the tech-happy interiors ditched buttons for climate and audio controls. Volkswagen has admitted that it went too far with this change, with the brand's top designer, Andreas Mindt, recently saying that next-generation models will go back to buttons. 'Honestly, it's a car. It's not a phone: it's a car,' Mindt said. Meanwhile, Rivian has spent billions on its proprietary interior technology, including its massive touchscreens. Imported cars are currently smacked with a 25 percent tariff when they enter the US Rivian has consistently dominated customer satisfaction ratings, with drivers praising the high-tech feel. But the EV startup has burned through a serious amount of cash. It has lost billions of dollars since its inception in 2009, and remains in the red. It hopes to achieve consistent profitability after 2026, when the company is expected to produce its lower-cost, smaller R2 SUV. Both companies have worked closely on the development of a new startup, Scout Motors. The startup is bringing extended-range pickups and SUVs to the US market: they are battery-powered, but will have a gas generator on board. VW's latest affirmation of its Rivian partnership is another attempt by the brand to grapple with Trump's 25 percent automotive tariffs. The German manufacturer initially told customers that it would display the cost of tariffs on its new-vehicle stickers. In early May, the company also confirmed it was bringing an Audi model's production to the US. A representative for the carmaker declined to detail which car would come. However, industry experts are speculating it will be the electric Audi Q4 E-tron. 'We want to localize more strongly in the USA,' a spokesperson told 'To this end, we are currently examining various scenarios. We are confident that we will make a decision on this in consultation with the Volkswagen Group before the end of this year as to what this will look like in concrete terms.'
Yomiuri Shimbun
10 hours ago
- Automotive
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Most New Cars in Norway Are Evs. How a Freezing Country Beat Range Anxiety.
Salwan Georges/The Washington Post New cars parked at a port in Drammen, Norway. FINNMARK, Norway – Just a few years ago, almost no one drove electric vehicles up here. In this remote region north of the Arctic Circle – where reindeer outnumber people, avalanches can bury roads in winter and sunlight disappears for weeks – 'range anxiety' takes on a new meaning. Today, however, nearly all new car sales in Norway are electric. That's true even in Finnmark, the northernmost region in Europe's northernmost country. Norway is 'an unlikely place for a transportation revolution,' acknowledged Christina Bu, head of the Norwegian Electric Vehicle Association. At the Skoda dealership in Alta, Finnmark's largest city, salesman Orjan Dragland marveled at the transformation – how five years ago, every car on the showroom floor had a combustion engine, and now the inventory is all EVs. In 2024, nearly 90 percent of new passenger cars sold in Norway were fully electric. Of the cars sold last month, the EV share was 97 percent. By comparison, EVs last year accounted for 8 percent of new car sales in the United States, 13 percent in the euro zone and 27 percent in China. 'What happened' in Norway? Dragland said. 'The government happened.' Norway has one of the world's most ambitious climate targets. It is aiming to become carbon neutral by 2030, and cutting emissions from road traffic is an important part of that. While the push for EVs has played to people's green sensibilities, the real driver, arguably, has been economic: Generous government incentives, supported at least indirectly by the country's fossil fuel profits, have brought down the cost of owning and operating an EV. 'It's very cheap to drive,' said Ailo Haetta, 43. He had just driven his sister and her new husband to their wedding – which explained his traditional Sami dress and the 'Just Married' sticker on his electric Volkswagen. More-affordable EVs helped accelerate other aspects of Norway's effort to decarbonize its car fleet. Private entities became more willing to take the risk of installing charging stations. And as charging stations began to blanket the country, Norwegians grew more comfortable with EVs. 'The Norwegian experience is really about building confidence,' said transportation research scientist Simen Rostad Saether. Making EVs the more affordable choice It has taken 25 years for Norway to get this far. The government began championing EVs in the early 1990s, with the hope of growing a domestic EV industry while cutting carbon emissions. The Norwegian EV-makers failed. Norway today imports all of its electric vehicles. But Norwegian drivers proved eager to buy EVs souped up by government incentives. Most significant, the government made EV purchases and leases exempt from a 25 percent value-added tax (VAT) – cutting thousands of dollars from the sticker prices – as well as from import and registration taxes. As EVs began to outnumber gas-powered cars on the road, the government scaled back some of the perks. VAT is now assessed over a certain purchase price. EV owners no longer get out of paying city parking fees and annual road taxes. Exemptions from highway tolls and ferry fares have been replaced by discounts. Still, many EVs in Norway are cheaper than or comparable in price to combustion cars – and they cost less to maintain, especially in the context of Europe's high fuel prices (which in Norway incorporate a carbon tax). Elsewhere on the continent, gas-powered cars tend to be subject to lower taxes, and EVs often remain the more expensive choice. Felipe Munoz, an automotive expert at JATO Dynamics, noted that the price of compact electric cars averaged 32,700 euros in the euro zone last year, vs. 19,000 euros for gas ones. 'When you have these big gaps, you understand why people make the decisions they do,' he said. Norway's EV experiment has been made possible by something of a paradox: The country is Europe's largest oil and gas producer, which helps support Norwegians' aspiration to live green. Norway has invested its fossil fuel profits into what has become the world's largest sovereign wealth fund, a nest egg worth $1.7 trillion. Returns from that fund help cover government expenses, which in turn makes it easier to accommodate climate-friendly tax exemptions. The government estimates that between 2007 and 2025, it will have forgone approximately 640 billion kroner (about $62 billion) in various vehicle-related taxes, mostly because of EVs. Norway's wealth means its EV model may not be easy to replicate everywhere. But countries seeking to boost EV adoption wouldn't have to spend as much now, said Rostad Sæther, who is part of the SINTEF research institute. With EV prices dropping globally, he said, other countries could focus less on the cost of cars and more on encouraging infrastructure and trust. Building the charging network Gjermund Pleym Wik is such an evangelizer for EVs that he has organized electric-car convoys through remote, mountainous areas in the far north to ease people's range concerns. Salwan Georges/The Washington Post A taxi driver charges his electric car at a station in Alta, Norway 'Yes, you need to stop and recharge, but it works,' he said, jabbing his finger at a map on a blue display board at Alta's largest charging station. Norway is a long, narrow country with 60,000 miles of roads that snake around fjords and mountainous terrain. Wik, who works in public health, admits that he once miscalculated the distance of a trip and had to unplug a stranger's Christmas lights to recharge. But EV fans say that shouldn't be any more of a deterrent than the prospect of running out of gas. Norway has worked to ensure that drivers are never far from a charging point. Most people charge their EVs at home, and a legal 'right to charge' guarantees access for apartment dwellers. The country also has an extensive charging network – powered almost entirely by renewables – with 9,771 fast chargers in 1,684 locations, according to Lars Lund Godbolt, who maintains the government's database. Godbolt said the longest distance between two fast-charging stations in Finnmark is about 80 miles, and officials say Norway easily bests the European Union target of 60 km (37 miles) between fast chargers on major roads. In one sense, that might not be so hard to achieve in a nation the size of New Mexico. But consider that New Mexico has only 419 fast charging ports, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. In terms of population numbers, Norway is close to South Carolina. But when it comes to fast EV chargers, the gap is yawning: South Carolina has 633 fast charging ports, according to the federal database – around 11 per 100,000 people. Norway, on the other hand, boasts 174 fast chargers per 100,000. The lack of charging infrastructure remains a major barrier to EV adoption in the United States. And that hesitancy, in turn, is deterring private investment in infrastructure to support EVs. Building and maintaining chargers is expensive, and in many areas, there isn't enough driver demand to make stations profitable. To speed up deployment, the Biden administration launched the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program, allocating $5 billion to help states build chargers along key highway corridors, with the goal of reaching 500,000 stations by 2030. The Trump administration, which opposes federal support for electric vehicles, has frozen funding for the program – a freeze that remains in effect although the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office has said withholding the funds approved by Congress is unlawful. In Norway, the government played an active role in initially establishing the charging network. In some cases, to ensure that chargers were placed at regular intervals on main roads, it subsidized up to 100 percent of the installation costs through competitive tenders from 'charging operators.' But since June 2022, new passenger EV charging stations have been built entirely on a commercial basis. (The government continues to support the charging infrastructure for heavy-duty vehicles.) As more charging stations appeared, consumer confidence grew. And as EV ownership expanded, more private entities were willing to take on the risk of building stations. With so many people driving EVs, charging operators could count on a healthy level of business. Some of the stations The Washington Post visited in Oslo offered WiFi and hot food in a small cafe – a place where customers charging their EVs could spend time, and money. Will Norway reach 100 percent? In 2017, Norway set a goal that by 2025 it would have 100 percent zero-emission new car sales. It is close but may fall a few percentage points short. Some climate advocates argue for a ban on imports of fossil fuel cars, like the one Ethiopia introduced last year. Others say reaching a percentage in the high 90s is good enough. 'There's a lot of debate over: 'Do we really need the last 2 or 3 percent? Could those people have a hybrid? Should we use our energy to fight the last percent?'' Rostad Sæther said. Norway still has a ways to go in transitioning its fleet of vehicles on the roads. Last year, it became the first country where EVs outnumber gas cars. But as a result of past encouragement of diesel as a transition fuel, diesel vehicles account for about a third of all cars and trucks – and those may last for years. Some Norwegians have bought an EV not as a replacement but as a second car – to test it out. Askill Halse, an economist at TØI, a transportation research center, said Norway has seen a 'big increase' in car ownership and a modest uptick in overall traffic, despite other policies aimed at reducing driving. Environmentalists argue that the goal should not be more electric cars, but simply fewer cars. In Finnmark – known for its northern lights, striking fjords and vast tundra expanses – there is lingering discomfort with EVs. Last year, 74 percent of new car sales in the region were electric, lagging the national numbers. Proposed copper mining projects, vital for EV batteries, have drawn criticism from Indigenous Sami communities and environmentalists. 'Maybe they should search somewhere where the people aren't as close to the nature,' said Ann-Kristine Bongo, 48, a reindeer herder who drives an EV. Interviews with locals highlighted other concerns: inconvenient charging apps, long waits at charging stations and reduced winter range. The Norwegian Automobile Federation determined that EVs have an average range loss of about 20 percent in cold weather. Opting for a heat pump to warm the cabin, rather than relying on the battery, can help. One driver said he wears a snowsuit on exceptionally cold days to save battery on cabin heat. Carpenter Tormod Simonsen, 21, said he didn't yet trust an EV for traveling to the mountains. 'I've gotten stuck many times – road closures, avalanches,' he said, filling up his gas-powered Volvo at a gas station in Alta. 'If I just drove in the city, okay. But in the mountains? You need to trust your ride.' A growing number of Norwegians, though, are being won over, with many citing cost as the primary motivator. Taxi driver Tommi Olsen estimated that switching to an EV has cut his expenses by about 20 percent. Alta's main taxi company is now 75 percent electric, aiming for 100 percent by October. Even electric snowmobiles are appearing. Tour guide Jørgen Wisløff tested one for northern lights tours at his 'ice hotel.' But it costs $6,000 more than the gas version. So he said he'd consider buying it if the government offered tax breaks to make the price more competitive. Wisløff said he's happy, though, with his white electric Ford Mustang, which he noted was cheaper to buy than its gas equivalent. It gets 400 km on a full charge in winter and 500 km in summer – or about 250 miles and 310 miles. With charging points every 70 km (45 miles) or so on his journeys, he said, he rarely worries. 'That's why it's working here in Norway,' he said.
