Norway sets new record: electric cars capture almost 99% of new car market

Norway registered 13,451 new vehicles in August — slightly fewer than a year earlier. Yet the share of electric cars among them climbed to 98.7%, up from 96.9% in August last year, according to Norwegian car market statistics.

It's a new record for a country that has, for all practical purposes, already gone almost entirely electric. Growth was also recorded in the light commercial vehicle segment, where electric models accounted for 44.9% of the 3,139 vehicles registered in that category. That figure still falls short of the absolute record set earlier this year, when it reached 53.1%.

The goal: full electrification by 2025

Norway has set itself the target of reaching 100% electrification of new passenger car sales as early as 2025. Notably, the country's authorities have never introduced an outright ban on selling or registering combustion-engine cars — the market has shifted to electric vehicles essentially voluntarily, driven by consumer demand and government incentive policies.

Sales leaders: Volkswagen on top, Škoda cracks the top 10

Volkswagen topped the Norwegian market in August, followed by Toyota, BMW, Volvo, Xpeng, BYD and Tesla. Škoda Auto also made it into the top ten, taking ninth place.

The best-selling model of the month was the Volkswagen ID.4, followed by the Toyota bZ4X and the BMW iX3. In year-to-date sales, Tesla still leads the pack, though its lead over second-place Toyota has narrowed considerably.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz