The Norwegian Road Federation—Opplysningsrådet for Veitrafikken in Norwegian—has announced a seismic shift in electric adoption: There are now more EVs on the country’s roads than gasoline-powered autos.
There are currently 2.8 million passenger cars registered in the country and 26.3% are fully electric, just edging out the share of gassers. Diesels, however, remain the most common vehicle type, accounting for over one-third of Norwegian vehicle registrations. Currently, 34.8% are diesels, 7.3% are plug-in hybrids and 5.4% are hybrids.
“The electrification of the passenger car fleet is keeping a high pace, and Norway is moving rapidly towards becoming the first country in the world with a passenger car fleet dominated by electric cars,” OFV Director Oyvind Solberg Thorsen said. Thorsen predicts that the number of EVs will overtake diesel and gasoline vehicles by 2026.
Norway has been a global leader in EV adoption thanks to generous incentives from the government. These include exempting electric cars and trucks from sales and emissions taxes, reducing tolls and parking fees for these vehicles, and allowing EV drivers to use bus lanes.
Eighty percent of new vehicles sold in the Land of the Midnight Sun, as of 2023, are fully electric.
