Most cars sold in Norway last year were electric

Norway has long been a market dominated by sales of electric cars. Nine out of ten new cars sold in Norway last year were powered solely by batteries. The Norwegian Road Federation reported this. 

Norway has set a target for 2025 that 100% of newly registered cars should be electric. In 2024, it came very close to this target, as reported by Euractiv. Fully electric vehicles accounted for 88.9% of new cars sold in 2024, an increase of almost 7% compared with 2023. The best-selling brands were Tesla, followed by Volkswagen and Toyota. Chinese electric vehicles now account for almost 10% of new car sales.

Even though Norway is a major exporter of oil and natural gas, it has very advanced electrification policies. The Nordic country penalizes petrol and diesel cars with high taxes while exempting electric cars from import duties and value-added tax to make them more attractive (although some exemptions were scrapped in 2023). Despite this, electric car sales continued to rise. In general, however, Norway's policy of supporting electric mobility is considered consistent over time, helping people get used to buying electric cars.

"Very often, we see other countries introduce tax incentives or exemptions and then scrap them the following year," said Christina Bu, head of the Norwegian Electric Vehicle Association. "Having incentives, rather than banning petrol and diesel cars, was also crucial. People don't like being told what to do," Bu added.

For example, the European Union has decided to ban the sale of cars that emit carbon dioxide by 2035, with some exceptions. Thanks to its incentive-based policies, Norway has managed to increase its share of electric cars every year – according to data from the Public Roads Administration, they accounted for more than 28% of all cars on Norwegian roads as of December 2024.

The main buyers of cars with internal combustion engines in Norway remain rental companies, since many tourists are reluctant to rent electric cars. However, the growing share of electric cars on Norwegian roads means that other sectors have to adapt.

For example, an increasing number of petrol pumps at service stations are being replaced by fast chargers. The aim is to have at least as many charging stations as conventional fuel pumps in the country within the next three years. Service station operators expect that more than 50% of all cars in Norway will be electric in just a few years.