Norway Is On Track To Win The EV Transition Race

Norway is nearing its goal of selling only zero-emission cars by the end of this year, with electric vehicles making up nearly all of January's new car sales. The Norwegian Road Federation (OFV) reported 96% of new car registrations were electric, a record-breaking number.

Of the 9,343 new cars delivered, 8,954 were all-electric. Only two of the top 50 best-selling models were non-electric, with the first ranking 33rd, according to the OFV.


The major oil and gas producer aims to only sell emission-free vehicles by 2025, a decade ahead of the EU target. However, the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) reports that electric vehicles (EVs) only held 13.6% of the European market in 2024. This marks the first decline in EV market share since 2020.

"We've never seen this before... If the rest of the year continues like this, we will very soon be close to the 2025 goal," OFV director Oyvind Solberg Thorsen said in a statement.

"But if we want to cross the finish line with 100 percent electric cars, it will be necessary to maintain the incentives that make it profitable to choose an electric car over other other models," he added.

Rather than banning combustion-engine vehicles, the government has influenced consumer preferences. In addition to penalising fossil fuel vehicles with increased taxes and registration fees, VAT and import charges were eliminated for low-emission vehicles. A series of benefits, such as free parking, reduced road tolls, and access to bus lanes, then followed.

In comparison, the European Union plans to end the sale of new fossil-fuel vehicles by 2035, while the present administration in the United Kingdom intends to do the same in 2030. Petrol and diesel car sales are still permitted in Norway but few are choosing to buy them.

Norway has seen a significant shift towards electric vehicles, with many petrol stations replacing fuel pumps with fast-charging points. There are currently over 27,000 public chargers across the country, equating to 447 chargers per 100,000 people. 

This infrastructure has supported the rapid adoption of EVs, with Tesla, Volkswagen, and Toyota leading the market last year. Additionally, Chinese brands like MG, BYD, Polestar, and XPeng have gained traction, now representing 10% of the Norwegian EV market, according to the Norwegian Road Federation.


Even if EV sales fail to meet the 100 percent mark this year, experts say that Norway can be seen as having met its goal.

"We should finish the year at between 95 and 100 percent, and probably even in the high end of this range," Christina Bu, head of the Norwegian Electric Vehicle Association, told AFP.