Norway Nears Goal to Sell only Electric New Cars

Norway is very close to meeting its goal of selling only fully electric new vehicles starting this year.

The Norwegian Road Federation (OFV), an automotive industry group, estimates that nearly 96 percent of new cars registered in Norway in January were all-electric. No other country has such a high rate of electric car (EV) ownership.

The OFV noted that of the 9,343 new cars sold last month in Norway, 8,954 of them were all-electric. Of the 50 most-sold models, only two were non-electric. The first of those came in 33rd place among the 50 models, the federation said.

The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) reported the share of electric cars in Europe was just 13.6 percent during 2024. That was the first recorded decrease since 2020.

OFV director Oyvind Solberg Thorsen said in a statement, "We've never seen this before...If the rest of the year continues like this, we will very soon be close to the 2025 goal." He noted that reaching 100 percent of the goal means to continue to offer the “incentives that make it profitable to choose an electric car over other models.”

Even though it is a major oil and gas producer, Norway aims to only sell "zero emission" new vehicles starting in 2025. That goal is 10 years ahead of the target set by the European Union (EU). Norway is not a member of the EU.

One difference between the EU and Norway’s method is that Norway has not banned the sale of cars with engines that burn fuel. Instead, Norway offers a number of tax breaks to EV manufacturers and owners. On the other hand, the country heavily taxes gas-powered vehicles.

For example, Norwegian EV owners do not have to pay road tolls and receive free parking in public car parks. EVs are also permitted to use parts of roads normally saved for public transportation vehicles.

Chargers everywhere

While some tax breaks and incentives have been reduced over the years, EVs have still kept expanding across Norwegian roads.

Frode Hvattum is a 50-year-old father of three who owns two EVs. He told the French News Agency AFP he started buying EVs because of his concern for the environment and for the benefits of driving them.

He lives in an area near Oslo where the streets are full of Teslas, Audis and Volkswagens. Some less costly Chinese EVs are increasingly appearing too.

Many homes have a device to charge, or supply electricity to, their EV’s battery. Norway also has a large national network of superfast charging stations.

Having a nationwide charging network was important for Hvattum, who, like many Norwegians, often travels by car to his second home in the mountains several hours outside Oslo. He said he finds it easy to plan and make trips with numerous charging stations available.

"You don't have to plan your trip as much as before," Hvattum said. He added that he uses the 15-to-20-minute charging breaks his vehicle needs to make it up to the mountains to shop for food.

Meeting its goal

Even if EV sales fail to meet the 100 percent mark this year, experts say Norway can still be seen as having met its goal.

Christina Bu heads the Norwegian Electric Vehicle Association. She told AFP, "We should finish the year at between 95 and 100 percent."

I’m Jill Robbins.

Pierre-Henry Deshayes reported this story for Agence France-Presse. Jill Robbins adapted it for Learning English.

incentive – n. something that urges a person to act in a particular way

emission – n. harmful substances released into the air by automobiles or factories burning oil or coal

toll – n. an amount of money that you are required to pay for the use of a road or bridge

benefit – n. a good result or effect

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