Chapter 1076 Encountering a Strange Old Man
Xiao Peng parked the car in a parking space on the side of the road, put a coin into the parking meter and prepared to walk around - after staying on the island for so long, it felt really good to see living people now.
"This car is great!" Someone called out to Xiao Peng as soon as he put in the coin.
Xiao Peng looked in the direction of the voice and saw an older man who had parked his car nearby looking at him. Xiao Peng smiled and said, "It's not bad. The key is that it's convenient!"
"This is so convenient!" the uncle said. "I can't even find a place to park here. Is this a new BMW MINI? How much is it? Twenty thousand?"
Xiao Peng smiled and said, "This is indeed a MINI, but it's not a BMW MINI, it's a Wuling MINI."
"This car is so cute, how much is it?" asked the uncle.
Xiao Peng smiled and said, "Five thousand euros!"
"Wait a minute?" The uncle was surprised. "You mean the new car?"
Xiao Peng nodded and said, "It's indeed a new car. It's still quite expensive here. In our country, 4,000 Euros is enough!"
"Damn it! The cheapest BMW MINI costs 15,000!" The uncle walked over to Xiao Peng's car and took a look. "Is this an electric car?"
Xiao Peng nodded and said, "Yes, it can run 120 kilometers on a single charge, and there's also a 170-kilometer version. A full charge costs less than one euro, so if you just use it for commuting, ten euros a month is enough. You don't need a special charging station, you can charge it with an ordinary household 220V power supply. It's very convenient to use!"
In fact, this uncle doesn’t really dislike electric cars.
New energy vehicles have become a trend in France and the Netherlands, with new energy vehicles and hybrid vehicles now accounting for one-third of total car sales.
After all, Europe is home to the "green princess" scene, so of course, buying a car should be environmentally friendly, right? Especially with the economic downturn caused by the pandemic, everyone is trying to save as much as possible.
And just like in China, opposing new energy vehicles is also a strategic policy in Europe. Currently, Europe is using a two-pronged approach of "high subsidies + strong penalties" to promote new energy vehicles, so the policies of various countries on electric vehicles are very good.
Take Norway as an example.
Electric cars are tax-free in Norway, but what about gasoline-powered vehicles? They're subject to a 25% VAT, a CO2 tax, a NOx tax, a weight tax, and a host of other taxes. The Norwegian government calls this a "polluter pays policy." Besides the tax exemption, electric car buyers also receive free parking, can drive in bus lanes, and ride car ferries for free. If fees are required, parking, road maintenance, and ferry fees are 50% of those for gasoline-powered vehicles. Companies that adopt electric cars receive a 40% tax reduction.
All in all, Norway has tried its best to promote electric vehicles, and they have achieved results: Norway is now the first and only country in the world where electric vehicle sales are better than fuel vehicle sales.
Although other European countries have not yet reached Norway's level, they all have similar policies, and the popularity of electric vehicles is increasing.
Take the Netherlands for example. Due to the epidemic, car sales in the Netherlands have now fallen back to the level of 1975, and now about two-thirds of the newly added cars are electric cars.
"Huh? This car has four seats?" The uncle leaned on the car window and looked for a while.
Xiao Peng smiled and said, "The back row is a bit cramped for your height, so it's more suitable for children, but you should be fine in the front row."
The height of the Dutch is really not a joke. This uncle is almost 1.9 meters tall.
Many Chinese people say that height is a matter of race, but this is not entirely accurate.
In the mid-19th century, the average height of the Dutch was only 166 cm, but now it's over 183 cm. Ultimately, this is due to adequate nutrition. Consider Xiao Peng's parents' generation: 170 cm and above was considered standard height. Now, 180 cm tall is everywhere in China. Simply attributing height to race is a common practice among Chinese intellectuals. While racial disparities do exist, a variety of factors must be considered.
Damn, speaking of racial issues, Kambu's big 'whip' was swinging right in front of Xiao Peng!
It’s over, this has left a psychological shadow!
The Dutch uncle became more and more curious and asked Xiao Peng, "Friend, can you let me drive this car?"
Xiao Peng nodded in agreement without thinking too much. Isn’t this a good opportunity to advertise domestic products?
After all, he still had money to burn – he didn’t care about five thousand euros at all.
He threw the car keys to the uncle: "This car is easy to drive."
The Dutch uncle was taken aback when he received the car keys. He thought for a moment and took out his car keys from his pocket and threw them to Xiao Peng: "Friend, don't worry that I will drive your car away and not return it to you. If I don't come back, you can drive my car away."
Xiao Peng looked at the uncle's car, well... he had never seen this kind of car before.
If Xiao Peng were asked to give this car a review, he would say it's "ugly but cute."
This is a black SUV, but both the windshield and the windows are very low, which definitely affects the line of sight. The rear end of the car is also raised like a Ford Mustang. When Xiao Peng thought of the front design, his first thought was the small temple that Sun Wukong transformed into when he was chased by Erlang Shen in the animated film "Havoc in Heaven"!
And the hood is intentionally recessed. What does that mean? Is it to store rainwater?
Xiao Peng had never seen the logo of this car before. At first glance, he thought it was the logo of Nissan. But when he looked closely, he saw that it was the front view of a piston plane, with a circular logo and two propellers sticking out.
Xiao Peng felt deeply out of place, as he couldn't recognize the car at all. Since the windows were all blackout glass, Xiao Peng couldn't see the interior of the car clearly, but he could tell that it was not cheap.
"Sir, you'd better hold on to your car keys." Xiao Peng threw the keys back to him: "If you give me the car keys, then you should be worried that I will drive away with your car!"
"Really?" The Dutch uncle looked at Xiao Peng and smiled slightly: "Then would you do this?"
Xiao Peng spread his hands: "Well, I don't think I would do that!"
"That's all!" The uncle threw his car keys back to Xiao Peng: "If this car really suits me, it would be a good idea for us to exchange cars!"
Xiao Peng laughed after hearing this: "Don't tease me! Although I don't know your car, it looks like it should be expensive! You want to trade cars with me? You'll lose a lot!"
The uncle then said, "The idea of 'losing a lot of money' is debatable. After all, it's all four wheels, right? And look, your small car is more suitable for city streets like this. I was so envious of you just now when you parked so easily! At my age, of course I drive whatever's most convenient!"
Xiao Peng thought about it and threw the car keys to the uncle: "Okay, I'll sit in the passenger seat and drive a lap with you. Then I don't have to take your car keys."
"You're such a weirdo, let's go, I can't wait!"
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