Norway is set to become the first country to fully transition to electric vehicles

Table of Contents

• Norway, a country renowned worldwide for its abundance of oil and natural gas, has been a pioneer in environmentally friendly transportation for a long time.
• The country's sales of electric vehicles have skyrocketed from just less than 1% of all car sales in 2010 to a remarkable 88.9% last year.
• "This is the new normal," Norway's Deputy Minister of Transportation Cecilie Knibe Kroglund told .

Norway is poised to become the first country in the world to completely eliminate gasoline and diesel cars from its new car market.

This trend doesn't indicate any signs of slowing down.

Statistics released by the Norwegian Public Roads Administration, which oversees the nation's national highway system, showed that electric vehicles (EVs) made up over 96% of all new cars sold in the first few weeks of this year.

It brings Norway close to achieving its ambitious goal of becoming fully electric, a target that was first set by lawmakers back in 2017.

Christina Bu, secretary general of the Norwegian EV Association (NEVA), believes Norway will meet this goal. In fact, Bu said plans were being made to host a celebration for what she described as a historic achievement.

"And everything, I think we should appreciate the advancements we've accomplished," she added.

The previous administration's non-binding executive order focused on achieving electric vehicle sales of 50% by 2030.

To get rid of the law that says all new cars made have to be electric and give people a choice in what kind of car they buy.

A 'new normal'

Norway's Deputy Transport Minister Cecilie Knibe Kroglund said that long-term and consistent policies designed to support the use of electric vehicles - rather than imposing measures to ban internal combustion engine vehicles - have been crucial to the country's transition.

It will prohibit the sale of brand new vehicles that are powered solely by internal combustion engines by 2030.

Some of Norway's EV incentives include a tax exemption, discounts on tolls and parking fees, and access to bus lanes. The government has also heavily invested in public charging infrastructure, and many Norwegian households have the ability to charge their cars from home.

Kroglund stated that the country intends to complete its transition to electric city buses by 2025, followed by a goal to make 75% of heavy-duty vehicles renewable by the end of the decade.

About 100% of new car sales in Norway are electric, but there are still many internal combustion engine vehicles on the road. NEVA's Bu stated that 28% of cars nationwide are fully electric, though in the capital city of Oslo that number jumps to over 40%.

Many middle-aged men come up to me and say: 'I was never going to buy an electric car, not at all.' Then they tell me the model they're driving and rave about the technology.

Our whole society has undergone this shift in thinking. Everyone I mean, it's not like Norwegians are inherently more environmentally conscious or more likely to adopt this mindset. It was the policies that drove the change and people rapidly understood and transformed their attitudes about it.

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Norway's lack of an auto industry lobby is believed to have contributed to its steady increase in electric vehicle adoption over time.

Indeed, Bu mentioned that while there has been ongoing debate about the benefits of shifting away from internal combustion engines, those opposing the transition "haven't been strong enough or well-coordinated enough."

How do others compare?

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It was found that more than 19% of the new cars registered in America in 2024 were electric vehicles.

Rico Luman, senior sector economist for transport and logistics at Dutch bank ING, said Norway's electric vehicle leadership shows that other countries can also do the same thing.

Norway is at the forefront globally, and in this regard, it's also a model for other countries to follow. However, we also need to note that Norway is one of the wealthiest countries in Europe, which makes it easier for it to allocate generous budgets.

"After the sudden discontinuation of subsidies for the general public due to budget restrictions," Luman stated.

A proposal to offer some tax relief for electric vehicles during a period of declining sales.

Harald Nils Røstvik, a professor at the University of Stavanger in Norway, said he doesn't anticipate Norway falling behind in its transition to electric vehicles

The benefits of an electric car compared to a noisy diesel car are numerous. It's quiet, more fuel-efficient, they have a sleek appearance, and it's considered a status symbol for many. It's also environmentally friendly, you don't need to change the oil filter, and you don't have to lift the hood.

"People won't go back to large, noisy, dirty diesel cars anymore. It just doesn't make sense for the majority," Røstvik said.