Norway, the frontrunner in global EV adoption, now lists more electric models in its car market than fossil-fuel and hybrid models.
According to the Secretary General of the Norwegian EV Association, Christina Bu, for the first time, “fully electric car models outnumber other models in the new car market.”
Currently, there are 177 different electric car models for sale in Norway, compared with 148 internal combustion engine models, including petrol, diesel, hybrids, and plug-ins.
In an interview with the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, Bu said that Norway is a market “that constantly gets the very latest EV models, often before anyone else.”
Bu attributes this to a long-standing, consistent EV policy that made electric vehicles affordable and appealing to consumers sooner than in most countries.
Between January 1 and August 31, 94.5% of new vehicles registered in Norway were fully electric.
In August alone, the market share for EVs reached 96.9%.
In 2024, electric vehicles in Norway accounted for 88.9% of new vehicles sold – up from 82% in 2023, according to the Norwegian Road Federation (OFV).
Norway, one of the wealthiest countries in the world thanks to its oil and gas reserves in the North Sea, set an ambitious target of having all new vehicles sold by the end of 2025 to be zero-emission.
The country has grown a sovereign wealth fund of more than $1.7 trillion, through which it can accelerate investments in big infrastructure projects — like EV charging.
Norway’s State Secretary in the Ministry of Transport Cecilie Knibe Kroglund told CNBC earlier this year that they also plan to fully transition to electric city buses by year-end.
“We have to acknowledge that transport has a role in climate change. I think 30% of pollution comes from the transport sector, so we had to do something,” Kroglund said.
Norway offers several incentives to encourage customers to choose EVs, including exemptions from VAT, discounts on road and parking taxes, and access to bus lanes.
Unlike some countries, Norway does not have a strong automaker lobby, which has likely helped increase EV adoption.
In addition, taxes on internal combustion engine vehicles have risen sharply, doubling over the past three years, according to Christina Bu.
In 2025, the best-selling vehicle brand in Norway so far was Tesla — with nearly 16.9 electric vehicles sold from January 1 to August 31, in a total of 99 million cars.
Chinese automakers BYD and XPeng, and Geely-backed EV maker Polestar, are also among the top 20 leading brands, following legacy automakers such as Volkswagen, Toyota or Volvo.
