Meet the Mum Who's Made EV History

NORWAY – When young Norwegian mum Solveig Marie Ødegård decided she had to learn to drive to transport her new family around, she went to a local driving school, took some lessons and passed her test.

So far so normal. What makes Solveig Marie's story so very different is that she took those lessons and passed the test in an electric car, a Nissan LEAF.

She has never, in her entire life, driven a car powered by a gasoline or diesel engine.

Nissan Executive Vice President Andy Palmer highlighted her story at the Paris Motor Show, where he told journalists she was the first of many. "There will come a time – five, ten, 15 years down the track – when every new driver will have driven only an electric vehicle," he said.

Norway is one of the most EV friendly nations of all. Keen to promote the benefits of zero emission mobility, Norway not only exempts buyers from paying purchase tax and 25% VAT on new cars, but drivers are also given free parking and access to bus lanes at all times. Nor do they have to pay for toll roads while capital Oslo has one of the most comprehensive charging networks of any major city.

Little wonder, then, that the Nissan LEAF is among the country's most popular new cars and why Oslo's ABC Trafikkskole – the driving school where Solveig Marie was a pupil – has a LEAF on its fleet.

For Solveig Marie, the LEAF was a revelation. "First I looked at this (learning to drive) as a duty, since someone in this family needed to be able to drive. However from the first moment I got into the car I discovered that it was incredible fun. So much fun that I almost felt ashamed for enjoying myself."

Armed with her driving license, Solveig Marie drove away from her local Nissan dealer in a brand new LEAF that, she said, was even better than the one she drove in school…"because it's mine!"

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