Electric vehicle fans the world over can get a kick out of Gísli Gíslason, a leader in Iceland's push to take the bountiful renewable energy that country produces and stuff it into as many EVs as possible. When he was recently pulled over for speeding in his white Tesla Roadster for going 124 kilometers per hour (77 miles per hour) – the first time an EV has been pulled over in Iceland – he told local media that, "I forgot myself in good weather," and encouraged other drivers to be careful. He also recognized the incident as something bigger than one man's lead foot, telling AutoblogGreen it was, "A great marketing stunt."
The charismatic Gislason, CEO of Northern Lights Energy, is even more excited about a bigger piece of news, though – he calls it "the hottest news in Iceland" – which is that the bill to reduce the high "value added tax" (VAT) rate on electric vehicles has passed. He shared the news that at 22:15 on the last day that the Parliament was in session before summer vacation, the bill was accepted. As we reported earlier, this bill does completely remove the VAT (currently set at 25.5 percent for vehicles, which Gislason calls "the highest in the world"), just on the first $45,000 of the price of EVs. Thus, electric vehicles like the Nissan Leaf and other smaller cars will be VAT free. The NLE staff, which is working to import and sell EVs in Iceland, celebrated with champagne and, as Gislason put it, "Let the games begin."
The charismatic Gislason, CEO of Northern Lights Energy, is even more excited about a bigger piece of news, though – he calls it "the hottest news in Iceland" – which is that the bill to reduce the high "value added tax" (VAT) rate on electric vehicles has passed. He shared the news that at 22:15 on the last day that the Parliament was in session before summer vacation, the bill was accepted. As we reported earlier, this bill does completely remove the VAT (currently set at 25.5 percent for vehicles, which Gislason calls "the highest in the world"), just on the first $45,000 of the price of EVs. Thus, electric vehicles like the Nissan Leaf and other smaller cars will be VAT free. The NLE staff, which is working to import and sell EVs in Iceland, celebrated with champagne and, as Gislason put it, "Let the games begin."
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