Norway reaches historical electric car market share

For the first time in history more than half of the passenger car market in Norway was fully electric (BEV, battery electric vehicles).

This article was first published at elbil.no.

This according to statistics for new cars registered from the Norwegian Road Federation (OFV). And it was not just one historic number in a market well known for ever new BEV records. Three, actually:

• The BEV market share was 58.4 percent in March, and surpassed 50 percent for the first time
• The BEV market share in the first quarter of 2019 was also higher than ever, at 48.4 percent
• Tesla set a new benchmark for competing car manufacturers with an astonishing 5315 Model 3 units registered during March, beating the previous strong number recorded by Nissan LEAF last year

«Norway has every reason to be proud of breaking more BEV records. The BEV policy is working so well that the larger part of consumers opt for a BEV when buying a new car,» says Secretary General Christina Bu of the Norwegian EV Association.

«Norway shows the whole world that fully electric cars can replace petrol and diesel cars and become an important contribution to combat CO2 emissions, as well as relieving local air from other harmful gases caused by burning fossil fuels,» Bu adds.

The Norwegian EV Association estimates the BEV market share will be maintained around 50 percent for 2019 as a whole. Parliament has passed an aim saying that by 2025 only cars with zero emissions should be sold in Norway.

«The fresh BEV records are also good news for the used car market, as ever more cars become available at reasonable price levels. We are now aiming for 1.2 million BEVs on Norwegian roads by 2025, which is a little more than five times today’s number.»