We´ve also been in Stockholm for an interesting meeting with BIL Sweden and the Ministry of Industry. Even though Automotive Sweden is a Western Sweden organization, it´s important to be and be seen in Stockholm on a regular basis. Something that frequently came up at our meetings was electric vehicle development. What is striking is that people are either for or against it. It feels like two camps. Enthusiasts and reactionaries. But as with so many things, the truth is probably somewhere there in the middle. Enthusiasts see many electric vehicles on the roads in just a couple of years, reactionaries believe that this will take much more time and that we won´t see any big changes before 2020.

I´m camping with the enthusiasts. I like change and electric feels right. Certainly there are still big challenges ahead for electric vehicles - safety, cost, service life..., but there is both political will and great public interest in this area and those are important components. This fall, we´ll be hosting a seminar in Göteborg about electric vehicle developments in Europe. If you´re interested in hearing what´s going on in other European countries, come and check it out.