| dc.description.abstract | The Norwegian vehicle fleet has evolved dramatically over the last 10 years, with electric vehicles (EVs) paving the way and being the favored option for Norwegian consumers when buying new cars. One of the major reasons causing this strong EV growth within Norway, is rooted in liberal government subsidies for EV adopters. The shift towards EVs and government policies to support it have been driven by environmental concerns. Thus, research is limited concerning the examination of potential negative environmental spillover effects of EV adoption. Our research contributes to the field by looking at the relationship between EV adoption and the potential for increased vehicle size. This research aims to provide feasible interpretations and insight with the use of archival Norwegian car sales data, along with dimension specification for vehicles, accounting for the expeditious increase in vehicle size, weight, and power. Our research show that increases in the mentioned dimensions are present, affecting the potential environmental benefit of the shift towards EV integration. The findings from this study also indicates that both size and power has increased significantly since the entrance of EVs, in line with a substantial growth to the power-to-weight ratio of vehicles. Additionally, our scenario analysis insinuates potential opportunity costs concerning prospective environmental gains that foregoes, exemplified through the change in consumer preferences with the adoption of larger, heavier, and more powerful EVs. | |
