According to Reuters, on January 2, 2025, the Norwegian Road Federation (OFV) released registration data showing that in 2024, the total sales of new passenger cars in Norway reached 128,691 units, a 1.4% increase year-on-year. Among them, the total sales of fully electric vehicles (EVs) were 114,400 units. OFV's data reveals that the market share of pure electric vehicles in Norway reached 88.9% in 2024, up from 82.4% in 2023. This puts Norway on track to meet its goal of only selling pure electric vehicles by 2025.
Christina Bu, President of the Norwegian Electric Vehicle Association, commented, "Norway will become the first country in the world to eliminate gasoline and diesel engine cars from its new car market."
In 2024, the best-selling electric vehicle brand in Norway was Tesla, with a market share of 18.9%, followed by Volkswagen and Toyota. Notably, within just five years, Chinese electric vehicle brands have seen their sales surge to nearly 10% of the total new car sales in Norway. In January 2020, SAIC's MG brand became the first Chinese-made electric vehicle to be sold in Norway.
According to the OFV's data on the top 20 electric vehicle brands in Norway, Reuters calculated that the total market share of Chinese car brands, including MG, BYD, and Xpeng, increased from 5.1% in 2023 and 4.1% in 2021 to 8.8% in 2024.
As an oil-producing country, Norway imposes high taxes on gasoline and diesel vehicles while exempting electric vehicles from import duties and VAT to make them more attractive, although in 2023, Norway reintroduced some taxes on electric vehicles.
This policy has led to a situation where, by 2024, the number of pure electric vehicles in Norway has surpassed that of gasoline-powered cars. According to data from the Norwegian Public Roads Administration, by December 2024, electric vehicles accounted for more than 28% of all vehicles in Norway.
Analysts suggest that this policy has been successful due to support from different political factions, ensuring long-term stability.
Christina Bu stated, "Some countries have introduced tax incentives or exemptions and later withdrawn them." She also emphasized that it is crucial for a country to implement measures to encourage electric vehicles, rather than banning the sale of gasoline and diesel cars. Cecilie Knibe Kroglund, Norway's Deputy Minister of Transport, added, "The government needs to develop a comprehensive set of incentives and ensure the long-term predictability of these incentives." Additionally, the absence of an automotive manufacturers' lobbying group in Norway has also facilitated the successful implementation of this policy.
