Norway nears 100% EV adoption with new sales record

Norway has set another benchmark in electric vehicle adoption, with 8,954 of the 9,343 new passenger cars registered in January being fully electric. This translates to a market share of 95.8%, a new record. Norway remains on track to meeting its goal of EV-only sales by the end of the year, though officials still express doubts.

The latest figures mark an encouraging increase from the previous year. In January 2024, EVs accounted for 92.1% of new registrations, but the total number of new electric cars then was just 4,717 out of 5,122 vehicles. “The goal set by the Storting (Norwegian parliament, ed.) in 2016 has been like a beacon that has led us in the right direction,” says Kristine Bu, General Secretary of the Norsk Elbilforening.

The Norwegian Road Information Authority OFV sees the surge as a sign of renewed economic confidence. “With over 9,300 new passenger cars in the first month of the year, we are roughly at the level we were used to before the sharp decline in new car sales in 2023 and 2024,” said OFV Director Øyvind Solberg Thorsen.

Nearing 100% adoption

Despite the strong numbers, Solberg cautions against expecting a 100% EV adoption rate this year. “In the last five days of January alone, the proportion of electric cars actually fell slightly, with a few hundred consumers still opting for diesel or petrol vehicles.”

Specifically, in addition to the 8,954 new EVs registered in January, 137 diesel cars, 124 petrol hybrids, 94 plug-in hybrids with petrol (and one with diesel), and 33 pure petrol vehicles were also sold. Notably, no fuel-cell vehicles were recorded.

With regard to ICE cars, Bu also referred to the industry crisis: “It will be exciting to see if the European automotive industry realizes that the electric car is the future and focuses on this rather than fossil fuel car production.”

While a handful of non-electric models remain on the market, the Norwegian trend is undeniable. Of the 50 most popular car models in the country, only two are not fully electric. Even Toyota’s hybrid models, which had previously secured spots in the top ten, have now largely been replaced by EVs.

Toyota leads the charge

However, Toyota still has reasons to celebrate, as its bZ4X SUV led Norwegian registrations in January, with 1,188 new units. Volkswagen followed closely with strong sales of its ID lineup. The VW ID.4 secured second place with 830 registrations, while the Nissan Ariya completed the top three with 544 units sold.

Volkswagen dominated the brand rankings, with a total of 1,899 registrations across its electric lineup, outpacing Toyota’s 1,354 units. Tesla, which led Norway’s EV market in 2024 with the Model Y, saw a significant drop in January (as elsewhere in Europe), recording just 361 registrations for the Model Y.

The upcoming Model Y Juniper update may be causing buyers to hold off on new purchases, but the recent political stances of CEO Elon Musk seem to ripple through the sales charts as well. Tesla’s Model 3 followed closely behind with 324 units, placing Tesla third in overall brand rankings.

The first non-VW German EV on the list was the BMW i4, ranking ninth with 243 units. Meanwhile, Ford secured a presence in the top ten with the Cologne-built Explorer, which saw 221 registrations.

The near-total dominance of EVs in Norway isn’t the result of the ban on combustion-engined vehicles but leans on long-term government policies to push a shift. The country has set a non-binding target to register only fully electric new cars by the end of 2025, and manufacturers have aligned their product strategies accordingly. As mentioned above, it has become some sort of an adventure to find combustion-engined passenger cars across the country’s showrooms.

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