Almost all new cars in Norway are electric

(Patria) - Almost all new cars registered in Norway last year were fully electric, official data released today showed, once again confirming Norway's leading position in the gradual phasing out of gasoline and diesel cars.

Norway is a major oil producer, and its accelerated transition to battery-powered vehicles is out of step with the rest of Europe. While Norway is rapidly transitioning to battery-powered vehicles, Brussels abandoned its planned ban on internal combustion engine cars by 2035 last week due to weak demand in the EU.

Thanks to tax incentives, 95.9 percent of all new cars registered in Norway during 2025 were electric vehicles. Their share in 2024 was 88.9 percent, according to data from the Norwegian Road Federation (OFV).

In December 2025 alone, electric cars accounted for 98 percent of all vehicles sold in Norway.

A record 179,549 new cars were registered in the Scandinavian country last year, 40 percent more than the previous year, OFV reported.

For the fifth consecutive year, the best-selling car brand in Norway was Tesla, with a market share of 19.1 percent. Volkswagen and Volvo followed, with market shares of 13.3 percent and 7.8 percent, respectively, according to OFV data.

American Tesla sold 27,321 cars in Norway last year, more than any other manufacturer in a one-year period. The Model Y was the most popular.

The excellent results stand out from the rest of Europe, where sales have slowed after a negative customer reaction to the political moves of CEO Elon Musk.

During 2025, cars manufactured in China had a market share of 13.7 percent in Norway, an increase from 10.4 percent in the previous year. BYD led the way, more than doubling the number of cars delivered to Norway.

Norway introduced taxation on electric cars in 2023, and in October, the Oslo government announced that it would introduce up to five thousand dollars in value-added tax per vehicle from January 1, 2026, which prompted citizens and car companies to accelerate purchases before the end of the year.

"We quickly redirected a number of cars that were not originally intended for the Norwegian market," Per Gunnar Berg, CEO of Ford Norway, told Reuters.

Although it has abolished some of the incentives for the transition to electric vehicles, the government has simultaneously continuously added charges to gasoline and diesel cars, seeking to make them more expensive, said Christina Bu, head of the Norwegian consumer and environmental organization for electric vehicles.

"This is often misunderstood outside of Norway. Everyone thinks that tax breaks and incentives are key, but penalties also play a big role," said Bu, adding that tax is "driving out" fossil fuel vehicles from the game.

Among the few new fossil fuel vehicles registered in 2025, the majority were specialized vehicles, such as those for wheelchair users or vehicles used by the police and other emergency services, according to OFV data. A smaller number of hybrid vehicles and sports cars were also registered.

During 2026, electric vehicles cheaper than 300,000 Norwegian kroner (25,404 euros) will still not be subject to VAT, which could boost sales of smaller cars, according to heads of companies in the automotive sector.

"I think the tax changes will accelerate the return to smaller cars that were once the most popular in both Norway and Europe," said the director of Ford's Norwegian subsidiary.

Companies will also offer more fossil fuel models for the battery-powered version, said Ulf Tore Hekneby, head of Harald A Moller, which imports Volkswagen, Audi, Skoda, and Cupra cars.

He added that his company managed to procure a larger number of cars at the end of last year by agreeing with factories to speed up production and give Norway priority in the allocation of manufactured cars.

"Our brands will launch a large number of new compact cars, so we will get a new range that we haven't had for many years," said Hekneby.