EVs make up 65% of new vehicle sales in this country in 2021, Tesla tops

Nearly two thirds of new vehicles sales in Norway in 2021 were made up of electric vehicles, with Tesla grabbing the top spot. The country saw a rise in overall new sales by 25% last year to a record 176,276 cars, of which 65% were fully electric. This market share was up from 54% EVs sold in 2020.

As Norway is putting in efforts to become the first country to end the sale of petrol and diesel cars, the oil-producing nation is encouraging its citizens to switch to zero emission vehicles. With a population of 5.4 million, Norway has the world's highest proportion of electric vehicles whereas China with its 1.4 billion people is by far the biggest overall car market.

Norway has exempted battery electric vehicles (BEVs) from taxes imposed on internal combustion engines (ICE). The tax break is expected to increase the proportion of overall electric sales, with an aim of reaching 80% in 2022. The country has set a deadline to end petrol and diesel powered car sales by 2025.

EV giant Tesla grabbed an 11.6% share of Norway's overall car market last year, becoming the number one brand for the first time on a full-year basis ahead of Germany's Volkswagen with 9.6%, as per the Norwegian Road Federation (NRF). Tesla Model 3 became the single most popular model of the year in Norway, getting ahead of Toyota's hybrid RAV4, and Volkswagen's electric ID.4 in third place.

Industry representatives expect EV sales in Norway to grow to as much as 80% of the total market in 2022, even though supply chain problems could slam brakes on the expectations. "We believe we will exceed 80% electric cars next year," said Christina Bu, head of the Norwegian EV Association, Reuters reported. "But there is big uncertainty in that forecast, and it is dependent on the shipping conundrum - many car producers have delivery problems," she added.

(with inputs from Reuters)