TESLA EXTENDS LEAD IN NORWAY SALES – Electric vehicles take 82% market share
Tesla topped Norway’s car sales for a third straight year in 2023, extending its lead over rivals.
Almost five out of six new cars sold in Norway last year were powered by battery only, with Tesla’s share of the overall market rising to 20.0% from 12.2%, registration data showed.
Electric vehicles accounted for 82.4% of new vehicles sold in 2023, up from 79.3% in 2022, the Norwegian Road Federation (OFV) said.
Seeking to become the first nation to end the sale of petrol and diesel cars by 2025, oil-producing Norway exempts fully electric vehicles from many taxes imposed on internal combustion engine rivals, although some levies were introduced in 2023.
Christina Bu, head of the Norwegian EV Association, said the market share of electric cars could rise to 95% in 2024, a year before parliament’s 100% goal is to be reached.
In Norway’s capital Oslo, more than one third of the city’s private cars are fully electric, which could increase to 50% in the next two years, Bu predicted.
But while noise and air pollution have eased, not everyone is happy. Some electric car owners complain about a lack of street charging points and argue current policies favour those who can afford their own.