Norway is often listed among the most sustainable countries in the world and its reputation lives on as the wealthy Nordic country reached another record-breaking year for electric vehicles (EV), selling almost 80% of these vehicles in 2022, compared to the year before.
1. Rising EV market share
The share of new electric vehicles in Norway went up to 79.3% in 2022 from 65% in 2021 and from a mere 2.9% a decade ago, according to the Norwegian Road Federation (OFV). Elon Musk’s electric-only Tesla had a 12.2% share of the overall car market in Norway, making it the number one brand for a second consecutive year, ahead of Volkswagen with 11.6%. The Tesla Model Y was the single most popular model of the year, ahead of Volkswagen’s electric ID.4 followed by the Skoda Enyaq.
“Eight out of ten people choosing fully electric instead of combustion engines is a considerable step towards Norway reaching its climate goal of 100% battery EV sales in 2025. This proves beyond doubt that affordable battery EVs are the number one choice for new car owners,” said Christina Bu, Secretary General of The Norwegian EV Association.
“Eight out of ten people choosing fully electric instead of combustion engines is a considerable step towards #Norway reaching its climate goal of 100 % BEV sales in 2025. This proves beyond doubt that affordable BEVs are the number one choice for new car owners” @ChristinaBu_
— Nordic EV Summit (@nordicevs) January 3, 2023
The Nordic nation is ensuring that fast-charging infrastructure is in place, stretching over 1700 kilometres from the north of the arctic circle to the southern tip of Norway. While China is by far the biggest car market overall, Norway with its roughly 5 million inhabitants has achieved the world’s highest proportion of electric vehicles with the help of generous state subsidies.
2. Government’s incentives
In 2016, the Norwegian Parliament pledged to only sell zero emission cars by 2025 — fully electric or hydrogen-powered. Seeking to become the first nation to end the sale of petrol and diesel cars by 2025, oil-producing Norway has until now exempted battery-powered fully electric vehicles from taxes imposed on rivals using internal combustion engines (ICE).
The electric car has become the new normal car for Norwegians, and that means we have to look into how we are using society’s funds.
Johan Vasara, a state secretary at the Norwegian transport ministry
From 2023, Norway will implement a 25% VAT on the purchase price from 500 000 Norwegian kroner and over. Additionally, for all EVs, a new weight tax will come into play. “Our message to the rest of the world is crystal clear: Now there is no excuse for the ICE unnecessary pollution when the climate crisis is so urgent to solve,” said Bu.
