(THIS ARTICLE IS MACHINE TRANSLATED by Google from Norwegian)
Small, square, and some sink in traffic. But electric cars need not be boring. Nurse Kathrine Myer Svendsen and medical student Bjørn Egil Andreassen got their electric Kewet Buddy lacquered.
- It's our own design. It's fun to put a little personal touch on the car, which reflects us as personalities. We had seen pictures of buddies painted with a floral pattern, but Bjørn thought flowers were a bit femi, says Svendsen.
Bjørn Egil Andreassen instead found an old car car that was his favorite when he was little, took it to the importer and said that they would have the same pattern on his car. Svendsen says that flame-painting attracts attention, and that many people point and smile as she drives past. The design was so popular that the importer called and asked if it was okay that another customer who had fallen for the car was allowed to have the paint painted.
- So now there is another electric car with flame painting in Norway. But we were pioneers.
The couple bought an electric car for purely financial reasons. Although it was more expensive to buy than a petrol-driven small car, they save a lot on not paying in the boom and that the annual fee is only NOK 370. To "fill the tank" is also virtually free. It costs NOK 300 a year for free charging of the batteries at special charging stations. If you need to charge the batteries at home, a full tank costs four to eight kroner.
Kathrine and Bjørn are getting married this summer. After the wedding, they plan to drive away in the flame-painted electric car, hoping to raise awareness. When they bought the car, both were students, and low fixed costs were important. Now they are thinking more about the environment, and when they need to change to a bigger car, an environmentally friendly alternative is a matter of course.
- We live in a polluted part of the city, with a lot of dust. Now I find it uncomfortable to stand behind a regular car. There will be another biodiesel or hybrid car next time. If there is an electric car the size of a small car and with a longer mileage, it will be relevant, says Svendsen.
The car they now have has a range of eight miles at good driving. It is not enough to make the car suitable for long-distance driving, especially when there are no charging stations outside the cities. Svendsen could well imagine that gas stations offered charging in addition to gasoline.
There are good schemes for people with electric cars, but if you want to drive with biodiesel, you have to provide fuel for yourself. There are currently only two biodiesel pumps in Norway, one in the Oslo area and the other in Stavanger.
- The authorities should make arrangements for people to be able to choose more environmentally friendly cars, says Svendsen.
