Robbie Andrew

I Norge har det vært fordi (i) MVA-untakk er den største insentiven, og bedriften ser ikke samme kjøpsprisforskjellen, og (ii) avskrivingsregler som gjorde at bedriften kunne avskrive og etter fire år selge bilen for mer det var verdt på bøkene.

Yes, exactly. Attracting customers with electricity rather than fuel means they can still sell the higher-margin snacks and drinks, etc. That demand doesn't disappear with the replacement of ICEs with EVs.

Graph showing: Total gas stations in Norway

But more relevant to the original point is this one. While "gas stations" are losing customers who buy fuel, they're not actually losing customers in total, because they now sell electricity and continue to sell convenience foods, etc.

Graph showing: Average distance travelled per passenger car in Norway

This is what the data for Norway show. EVs and hybrids are driven about the same amount per car, while the distances driven in ICE cars (again, per car) are steadily declining.
robbieandrew.github.io/EV/

Mismanagement, not drought, pushes Iran toward water bankruptcy Iran is facing one of its most severe droughts in 60 years, with more than half its plains suffering drastic groundwater depletion and the term “water bankruptcy” becoming more palpable by the day.

Interesting opinion piece about the situation in Iran.

Ha-Joon Chang on the Future of India's Industrialisation Facing US tariffs and automation risks, Ha-Joon Chang argues that India must rebuild manufacturing via industrial policy, capital controls, and national champions.

Very interesting interview with economist Ha-Joon Chang about India's development model and prospects.

"Just as ... the term “natural gas” is now used for what is mostly methane"
Interesting that this folk etymology is normalised here.

Screenshot showing four of the charts available at https://robbieandrew.github.io/internationaltransport/

I've since added a few more figures to my "international transport" webpage:
robbieandrew.github.io/internationa...

This blows my mind. It would be great to see this sort of comparison tracked over time.

Nudge theory has gained fairly wide currency as a kind of "ah yes, that's obvious, why didn't we think of that before?" But the real world doesn't always match what seems intuitive.

Graph showing: Singapore's monthly sales of marine bunker fuels

You can find some charts and data on international transport on my webpage here:
robbieandrew.github.io/internationa...

Iran introduces limited gas price rise in sensitive political move Iran on Tuesday announced a limited fuel price increase in a move which appears aimed at reining in costly government subsidies while avoiding public anger which has previously exploded into protests.

Update:
Drivers without their ration cards or over their quota will pay a little more than they used to.
"Fuel demand has at times exceeded 140 million liters per day, outpacing production of roughly 110 million liters, driven by inefficient vehicles, smuggling and seasonal spikes"

One core reason is that most people buy on finance and interest rates have been very high in the fight against inflation. Similar to (although not as bad as) Thailand. People just don't have access to as much finance as they used to. So the arrival of cheap BYDs makes a splash.

Screenshot from https://robbieandrew.github.io/GCB2025/ showing the first six of many available graphs.

Plenty of figures to choose from. Here are the first six of the 74 on the webpage. They're numbered according to which slide they appear on in the GCB's Powerpoint slidedeck (link on this page), which has a little more interpretation on each one.
robbieandrew.github.io/GCB2025/

BYD’s Cheapest EV, Atto 1, Officially Arrives in Indonesia BYD’s most affordable EV, the Atto 1, has arrived in Indonesia, offering a 300–380 km range at prices starting from Rp 195 million

An earlier story on the arrival of BYD's Atto 1 (aka Seagull) in Indonesia:

Marine researchers find biggest source of microplastics in our ocean is vehicle tyres It was found broken down tyres were the largest source of microplastics in New Zealand's coastal waters.

New research in New Zealand finds the same result:

Opinion | The Elements That Define Our World A series of short films about how the elements of the periodic table shape our lives.

"Sinking Carbon in China"
A short film by Zhao Liang, juxtaposing coal mining and tree planting, both on an enormous scale.

For Nepal, I had previously looked for official stats and failed, so decided now to go with mirror trade data, which are probably decent for Nepal (few borders). But now I've found official Customs data, so I will process those and compare.

It's not easy when a country keeps poor statistics, when imports might be complete cars or cars in parts that are locally assembled, and when cars might be imported from neighbouring countries without going through Customs.

Heck, that should have read 2021, not 2001! 👆

Yes. I have looked for data for Ethiopia before, but I'll take another look.

It varies a lot by country. In the Netherlands diesel are under 1%, but in Germany they're still abotu 14%.

Nepal’s electric vehicle imports surge after tax cuts According to the Department of Customs, 1,103 battery-powered cars worth Rs3.24 billion entered the country between mid-July and mid-January.

While the Indian fuel blockade ot 2015-16 is implicated as the initial trigger, the proximal trigger for the surge in electric car imports was a policy change that took effect in 2001.

The article is worth reading. It's an interesting situation, with a landlocked country, historical ties, switching but not necessarily reducing dependence, fragility, inequalities, etc. And the article was written in August, before September's mayhem, which makes any prognostication futile.

Nope. Even when it was live, you couldn't rewind. But last year's conference's video is online, so I would assume they'll make this one available soonish.

Rewired by China: How Nepal’s EV Surge Exposes India’s Decay Nepal’s EV surge, powered by Chinese technology and domestic hydropower, has displaced India’s industrial influence and exposed weaknesses in Delhi’s regional strategy. While it marks a shift in regio...

More on India's blockade and its consequences here:

Graph showing: Nepalese passenger car imports by type: Monthly

The Nepalese EV transition.
In simple terms, brown on this graph is India's share and blue is China's share.
The trigger? India effectively halted all imports of petroleum into Nepal in 2015, an "undeclared blockade", which was "masked as constitutional concern".
robbieandrew.github.io/carsales/

Is Birol still in the room while Opedal is saying these things?

Graph showing: EUROPEAN UNION: new passenger car sales by type: Monthly

EU with 19% BEV in October, 16% this year.
robbieandrew.github.io/carsales/

No question abou that.