The leader of the Progress Party Youth (FpU), Simen Velle, has expressed strong dissatisfaction with the opening of what is referred to as Oslo’s first petrol-free “petrol station”.
The former petrol station, located on Frognerveien in Majorstuen, Oslo, was converted into a pure charging station for electric cars on Thursday.
The former petrol station, located in Frognerveien on Majorstuen in Oslo, was on Thursday converted into a pure charging station for electric cars by the company St1 Norge.
VG, Velle criticises the fact that Oslo Mayor Anne Lindboe from the Conservative Party was present at the opening and gave her support to the initiative. Lindboe emphasised that Oslo, as an electric car capital, needs more such measures to reduce emissions and make everyday life easier for both residents and businesses.
The FpU leader believes that even though St1 is a private company that can decide its own operations, he reacts to the mayor’s enthusiasm for removing a service that serves a significant proportion of the city’s car fleet.
Velle points out that although the number of electric cars is increasing, many people still rely on petrol and diesel cars.
According to an article in Dagens Næringsliv (DN), the remodelled station in Karl Johans gate has 16 fast chargers. Mayor Lindboe told DN that this is an important step in facilitating the growing electric car fleet in the capital.
Velle believes that there is a “car-hostile attitude” from the Conservatives in Oslo, citing the introduction of zero-emission zones, electrification of the construction industry and planned tolls as examples of this.
He would like to see a stronger voice for motorists from parties other than the Progress Party.
Mayor Lindboe responded in VG that FrP suffers from “fear of drunkenness” and emphasised that with a 95 per cent share of electric cars in new car sales, it is more important to have more charging stations than petrol stations in Oslo.
Figures from Statistics Norway show that more than 140,000 passenger cars running on diesel or petrol are registered in Oslo, and approximately 132,000 electric cars as of the fourth quarter of 2024.