According to the Norwegian Road Federation, 79.3% of all new cars sold in Norway in 2022 were 100% battery-electric powered vehicles. The EV market share in the country, which has a population of approximately 5 million, rose from 64.5% in 2021 to 79.3% in 2022.
In 2016, the Norwegian Parliament committed to a goal that all new cars sold by 2025 should be zero emission (fully electric or hydrogen). By end of 2022, more than 20% of registered cars in Norway were battery electric (BEV). To aid the push, the government is offering a number of incentives. For example, counties and municipalities can not charge more than 70% of the price for fossil fuel cars on toll roads, and EVs pay a maximum of 50% of the total amount on ferry fares.
The country also has high taxes for high-emission cars and lower taxes for low and zero-emission cars. The Norwegian Road Federation says the tax is progressive, making big cars with high emissions very expensive. For the last few years, the purchase tax has been adjusted gradually to have more emphasis on emissions and less on weight, the federation says. From 2023 on, Norway will implement a 25% Value-Added Tax (VAT) on the purchase price from 500,000 Norwegian Kroner (approx. $50,000) and over. Additionally for all EVs, a new weight tax will come into play.
The Federation says that the top 10 new cars in Norway in 2022 are all EVs:
- Tesla Model Y: 17,356
- Volkswagen ID.4: 11,561
- Skoda Enyaq: 7,133
- BMW iX: 6,127
- Volvo XC40: 5,507 (of which 5,279 were EVs)
- Hyundai IONIQ 5: 5,044
- Audi Q4 e-tron: 4,928
- Audi e-tron: 4,740
- Polestar Polestar 2: 4,692
- Ford Mustang Mach-E: 4,226
From the Editor: Hot take
Northern Europe has traditionally been ahead of the pack when it comes to EV adoption, and it’s for two reasons: First, the government incentives are crazy and make it really easy for even die-hard petrol enthusiasts to give EVs a shot. Second, and perhaps more important, is the infrastructure support. Norway already has a nationwide fast-charging infrastructure in place, stretching over 10,500 miles from the north of the arctic circle to the southern tip of the country.
Here’s the thing, though: The U.S. is *checks atlas* a different country than Norway. The U.S. is ramping up incentives and pouring money into charging infrastructure this decade, yet many consumers in the States will no doubt still turn up their noses at battery electric power. That’s OK. EVs aren’t for everyone or for every application, and the federal government (hopefully) knows that.
Despite this, those pushing EV adoption in the U.S. are surely taking notes regarding Norway’s success. Here’s a full list of Norway’s EV incentives – don’t be surprised if you see a version of some of these adopted stateside:
- No purchase/import tax on EVs (1990-2022). From 2023 some purchase tax based on the cars’ weight on all new EVs.
- Exemption from 25% VAT on purchase (2001-2022). From 2023, Norway will implement a 25% VAT on the purchase price from 500,000 Norwegian Kroner (approx. $50,000) and over.
- No annual road tax (1996-2021). Reduced tax from 2021. Full tax from 2022.
- No charges on toll roads (1997- 2017).
- No charges on ferries (2009- 2017).
- Maximum 50% of the total amount on ferry fares for electric vehicles (2018).
- Maximum 50% of the total amount on toll roads (2018-2022). (From 2023, 70%)
- Free municipal parking (1999- 2017).
- Access to bus lanes (2005-). New rules allow local authorities to limit access to only include EVs that carry one or more passengers (2016-).
- 25% reduced company car tax (2000-2008). 50% reduced company car tax (2009-2017). Company car tax reduction reduced to 40% (2018-2021) and 20% from 2022.
- Exemption from 25% VAT on leasing (2015-).
- “Charging right” for people living in apartment buildings was established (2017-).
- Public procurement: From 2022 cars needs to be ZEV. From 2025 the same applies to city buses.
