The Norwegian Road Federation reported that almost one-third of all new vehicles sold in the country in 2018 were pure-electric.
Last year, Norwegians purchased 46,092 all-electric cars, which exclude plug-in hybrids and hybrids, making up 31.2 percent of new vehicle sales. That’s up from 20.8 percent in 2017 and 5.5 percent in 2013, according to the Norwegian Road Federation. Meanwhile, sales of diesel and petrol cars were down 17 percent and sales of hybrids that cannot be plugged in fell 20 percent.
Nissan Leaf was the top-selling vehicle in the country, followed by BMW i3 (BEV+REx) and Volkswagen Golf (e-Golf and Golf GTE).
Oil-rich Norway, which aims to eliminate all emissions from new cars by 2025, offers generous subsidies for buyers who opt to go electric. The incentives that propped up the Norwegian market include significant tax breaks, toll-free travel, and free parking and charging stations, thanks to the country’s abundant hydroelectric power resources.
“In 2018, alternative-fuel cars consolidated their strong position in the market,” the federation’s director, Oyvind Solberg Thorsen, said in a statement.
Solberg Thorsen said he expects an even bigger share of battery-powered cars going forward, as there is still an untapped demand for more family-friendly electric vehicles, with longer range at reasonable prices.
“As more models reach the market this year, we should see an even larger share of zero-emission vehicles in the sales numbers,” Solberg Thorsen said.
