Norway leads the world in electric vehicle (EV) adoption, with EVs making up nearly nine out of 10 new cars sold last year. As nations look to accelerate their own transitions, Norway’s journey offers valuable lessons.
Harald A. Møller, an Oslo-based car dealership with over 75 years of experience importing Volkswagens, marked a milestone in early 2024 by ceasing the sale of fossil fuel cars. Today, its showroom exclusively features electric vehicles.
“We think it’s wrong to advise a customer coming in here today to buy an ICE [internal combustion engine] car, because the future is electric,” says chief executive Ulf Tore Hekneby, as he walks around the cars on display. “Long-range, high-charging speed. It’s hard to go back.”
In Oslo, EVs are no longer a novelty—they’re the norm. Most cars sport an “E” on their license plates, signalling their electric status.
With a population of 5.5 million, Norway has embraced EVs faster than any other country. In 2023, the number of electric cars on Norwegian roads surpassed petrol-powered vehicles for the first time. Including diesel vehicles, EVs now account for nearly a third of all cars in the country. In 2024, EVs made up 88.9% of new car sales, up from 82.4% the previous year, with some months seeing rates as high as 98%.
By comparison, the UK’s EV share of new car registrations in 2024 was 20%, up from 16.5% in 2023. In the US, EVs accounted for just 8% of new sales, up from 7.6% the year before.
Norway’s EV revolution has been three decades in the making.
“It started already in the early 1990s,” says Christina Bu, the secretary general of the Norwegian EV Association.
“Little by little taxing petrol and diesel engine cars more, so they have become a lot more expensive to purchase, whereas electric cars have been exempted from taxes.”
Initial support for EVs aimed to boost local manufacturers like Buddy and TH!NK City—both defunct today—but the incentives endured.
“It’s our goal to see that it’s always a good and viable choice, to choose zero emission,” says Norway’s Deputy Transport Minister, Cecilie Knibe Kroglund.
Despite being a major oil and gas producer, Norway set a non-binding goal in 2017 for all new cars sold to be zero-emission by 2025, a target now within reach.
“We are closing up on the target, and I think that we will reach that goal,” adds Kroglund. “I think we have already made the transition for passengers cars.”
Rather than imposing bans, Norway influenced consumer choices through consistent policies. Higher taxes and registration fees penalised fossil fuel vehicles, while EVs benefited from exemptions on VAT and import duties. Perks such as free parking, reduced road tolls, and access to bus lanes further encouraged adoption.
Top EV brands include Tesla, VW, and Toyota, with Chinese marques like MG, BYD, Polestar, and XPeng capturing 10% of the market, aided by Norway’s lack of tariffs on Chinese imports.
For many locals, like Ståle Fyen, who bought his first EV 15 months ago, going electric made economic sense.
“With all the incentives we have in Norway, with no taxes on EVs, that was quite important to us money wise,” he says while plugging in his car at a charging station in the capital.
“In the cold, the range is maybe 20% shorter, but still, with the expansive charging network we have here in Norway, that isn’t a big issue really,” Mr Fyen adds. “You just have to change your mindset and charge when you can, not when you need to.”
Another driver, Merete Eggesbø, says that back in 2014 she was one of the first people in Norway to own a Tesla. “I really wanted a car that didn’t pollute. It gave me a better conscience driving.”
Ms Bu says there’s “not really any reason why other countries can not copy Norway”. However, she adds that it is “all about doing it in a way that can work in each country or market”.
Norwegians aren’t more environmentally-minded than people elsewhere, she reckons. “I don’t think a green mindset has much to do with it. It has to do with strong policies, and people gradually understanding that driving an electric car is possible.”
Norway’s wealth, fuelled by its $1.7 trillion sovereign wealth fund from oil and gas exports, enables substantial infrastructure investment.
The country boasts over 27,000 public EV chargers—447 per 100,000 people—compared to the UK’s 89 per 100,000. Abundant renewable hydropower, providing 88% of Norway’s electricity, supports this green shift.
“A third of cars are now electric, and it will pass 50% in a few years,” says Kjell Werner Johansen from the Norwegian Centre for Transport Research. “I think the government accepts that a few new petrol or hybrid cars will still be on the market, but I don’t know anybody who wants to buy a diesel car these days.”
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