Americans love their cars their gas-guzzling, air-polluting, smog-producing cars. Although the vast majority agree that if we all drove electric vehicles we could reduce oil consumption and pollution, only a third would consider buying one anytime soon. Far fewer are actually making the switch.

The adoption of all-electric and plug-in hybrids has been steadily creeping up over the last decade, yet electric cars make up only about 2% of new car sales in the U.S.

Compare that to the situation in Norway, the worlds unofficial leader in EV driving, where more than 40% of new cars sold are now electric and thousands of drivers are on waiting lists for the latest models. Its a trend 30 years in the making.

These things take time, because you need those first guys willing to break the mold, buy an EV and tell their pals, Shut up, this car is awesome! said Daniel Milford Flathagen, 36, from Trondheim, a government agency employee who waited 18 months for a Hyundai Kona Electric, his second electric vehicle.

Norway, a small, largely rural country with a population of just 5 million, has been steadily building hype for electric cars. Given their significantly larger populations, China and the U.S. report higher total sales numbers (around 1.2 million and 360,000 , respectively, including plug-in hybrids, in 2018). The Scandinavian nation has the highest share of new electric vehicle purchases in the world .

Credit for this could go to an evolved cultural acceptance of functional electric cars over more macho gas-guzzlers, or Norways long-held reputation as a nature-loving, environmentally friendly population. But theres a more direct, prosaic explanation: In Norway, it pays to drive electric.

The environmental aspect is a very good bonus for everyone, said Elisabeth Sakkestad, a 32-year-old EV user who works for an aid organization in Stavanger. You feel better about driving an electric car than a fossil-fueled one.

But it is what Sakkestad described as the economic benefits that have played by far the greatest role in persuading her and huge swaths of the population to switch to emissions-free vehicles.