Electric car owners have reacted to very high charging costs and would not buy an electric car today.
Before the high electricity prices came to Norway, charging prices per kWh were around NOK four more than the electricity price. Now the charging price is on average around NOK seven higher, according to the Norwegian Electric Vehicle Association.
We are frustrated, and feel that consumers are being taken advantage of, says Christina Bu, secretary general of the Norwegian Electric Vehicle Association, to NRK.
They represent over 120,000 electric motorists and want to grow their membership. But Bu is worried that the charging prices could put a damper on this.
We are afraid that the charging companies will use the opportunity to continue making money from electric drivers who are dependent on charging the car.
Bu says that the reason given for the charging companies setting up the prices was solely high electricity prices.
Then people react to the fact that they are not reduced again, since electricity prices are now lower.
Charging company Kople has distanced itself from the statement of the Norwegian Electric Vehicle Association.
It creates a conflict between us who want to contribute to a green infrastructure. It makes no sense for us to charge a higher price than customers are able to pay, says Tine Holm-Hansen, marketing and communications manager at Kople.
She believes that people must understand that it will be difficult to go down to the same level of charging prices as we have seen in the past.
We see that the low prices we had last year were really too low for us to continue in that direction, while still having a good basis for operating positively and allowing to expand the charging network further, concludes Holm-Hansen.