Electric Car Warning Signals As Denmark Calculates Cost Of Switch

However, the Nordic country relies heavily on car and road taxes worth some 50 billion Danish crowns ($7.95 billion) a year, or 2.3% of GDP, to fund its welfare system.

In March, the Danish Council on Climate Change, an independent advisor to the Danish government, said the number of electric cars should rise to at least 1 million by 2030 from less than 20,000 now in order to meet the targets.

“This would create a significant problem for the economy,” commission head Anders Eldrup told a press briefing.

Increasing the number of electric cars to 1 million through raised subsidies and higher taxes on fossil-fuelled cars would result in a total net loss to society of 5.7 billion crowns in 2030, the commission said.