The Norwegian fleet of plug-in electric vehicles is the largest per capita in the world. See table "Elbilsalg i 2011 fordelt på måned og merke" (Electric vehicle sales in 2011, by month and brand) to see monthly sales for 2011. In December 2016, Norway became the first country where five in every 100 passenger cars on the road were plug-in; attained 10% in October 2018, and reached 25% in September 2022. See graph under "Personbilbestanden i Norge fordelt på drivstoff"
The Norwegian plug-in car segment market share has been world's highest for several years, achieving 29.1% of new cars sold in 2016, 39.2% in 2017, 49.1% in 2018 55.9% in 2019, 74.7% in 2020, and 88.9% in 2024. The record uptake rate achieved in 2020 allowed Norway to become the first country in the world where annual sales of all-electric cars outsold the combined volume of all passenger cars with internal combustion engines. In January 2024, the share of combined EV was 93.9%: 92.1% full electrics (BEVs), and 1.8% plugin hybrids (PHEVs).
According to a 2018 analysis by McKinsey & Company, Norway has already reached a critical mass of electric vehicles. Therefore, the country is the only one in the world in the third stage of a disruptive trend, and the EV disruption is inevitable.
, the stock of light-duty plug-in electric vehicles in Norway totalled 647,000 units in use, consisting of 470,309 all-electric passenger cars and vans (including used imports), and 176,691 plug-in hybrids. Click on the tab "Elbil" for the stock of electric cars and "Ladbar hybrid" for the stock of plug-in hybrids. , the stock of registered light-duty plug-in electric vehicles totaled 647,000 units, consisting of 470,309 battery electric vehicles and 176,691 plug-in hybrids. Norway listed as the top selling plug-in country market in Europe for three consecutive years, from 2016 to 2018. The Nissan Leaf is the country's all-time best selling plug-in electric car, with over 65,500 units registered through 2020. The Nissan Leaf is the all-time best selling electric car in Norway, with 65,528 units registered through 2020.
The fleet of electric cars is one of the cleanest in the world since about 98% of the electricity generated in the country comes from renewable energy sources, mainly hydropower. In 2017, and as a result of its fast growing EV adoption, Norway was able to achieve its climate target for average fleet emissions (85 g/km) for new passenger cars three years earlier than pledged.
The adoption and deployment of zero emission vehicles in Norway has been driven by policy, and actively supported by the government since the 1990s. In addition to non-monetary incentives, all-electric cars and vans are exempt from all non-recurring vehicle fees, including purchase taxes, and 25% VAT on purchase, making electric car purchase price competitive with conventional cars. Also, a tax reduction for plug-in hybrids went into effect starting in July 2013.
In 2015 the Parliament agreed to reduce and phase out some of the incentives beginning in 2018. Also local authorities were granted the right to decide whether electric cars can park for free and use public transport lanes. In 2016, through its National Transport Plan 2018–2029 (NTP), a goal was set for all sales of new cars, urban buses and light commercial vehicles by 2025 to be zero emission vehicles.
Several unintended consequences have resulted from the successful policies implemented to promote EV adoption, and raised several complaints and criticism. These include: high public subsidies as compared to the value of the reduced carbon footprint of electric vehicles; the possibility of traffic congestion in some of Oslo's bus lanes due to the increasing number of electric cars; the loss of revenue for some ferry operators due to the large number of electric cars exempted from payment; and the shortage of parking spaces for owners of conventional cars due to preference to electric cars.
Government goals and incentives
Existing incentives
The adoption and deployment of electric vehicles in Norway, particularly zero emission vehicles, has been driven by policy, and since 1990, actively supported by the Norwegian government. See pp. 9–10, 19–23, 29–28, and Statistical annex, pp. 107–113. The Parliament of Norway set the goal to reach 50,000 zero emission vehicles by 2018. Among the existing incentives, all-electric cars and utility vans are exempt in Norway from all non-recurring vehicle fees, including purchase taxes, which are extremely high for ordinary cars, and 25% VAT on purchase, together making electric car purchase price competitive with conventional cars. As an example, by early 2013 the price of the top selling Nissan Leaf was 240,690 kroner (around ) while the purchase price of the 1.3-lt Volkswagen Golf is 238,000 kroner (about ). Electric vehicles are also exempt from the annual road tax, all public parking fees, and toll payments, as well as being able to use bus lanes. These incentives are in effect until the end of 2017 or until the 50,000 EV target is achieved.
+ Timeline of government incentives and zero-emission vehicle milestones Date Milestone 1990 Temporary exemption from import tax 1996 Import tax exemption made permanent Reduced annual registration tax 1997 Exemption from road tolls 1998 International launch of Th!nk in Brussels 1999 Special "EL" series plates introduced Free parking in public spaces The Danish company Kewet becomes Norwegian 2000 Reduced company car tax 2001 VAT reduced to zero percent 2003 Access to bus lanes in the Oslo region 2005 Access to bus lanes made permanentand extended nationwide 2008 Oslo launched municipal EV charging infrastructure program 2009 Free access to road ferries 2011 Mitsubishi i-MiEV and Nissan Leaf launched in Norway2012 Norwegian Parliament extends electric car incentives until 2018, or when the 50,000 EV target is reached 10,000th electric car registered Jul 2013 Weight tax deduction for plug-in hybrids introduced Aug 2013 Tesla Model S launched in Norway Sep 2013 First country in the world to have an electric car topping the new car sales monthly ranking (Tesla Model S) Mar 2014 1% of all cars in use are plug-in electrics Apr 201550,000th all-electric car registeredMay 2015 Decision to keep existing incentives through 2017 Parliament agreed to reduced EV tax incentives gradually beginning in 2018 Local authorities granted right to decide about EV use public of bus lanes and free parking Apr 2016 100,000th plug-in electric vehicle registered. In April 2016 Norway just exceeded the threshold of 100 000th registered electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids included. Jul 2016 First EVs with the "EK" prefix series plates on the road.Dec 2016 100,000th all-electric vehicle registered. 5% of passenger cars on the road are plug-in electrics.Dec 2017 Over 200,000 plug-in electric vehicles registered. 5% of all cars on the road are all-electric.Average new fleet emissions in 2017 were 82g/km, achieving the government's target set for 2020. Jul 2018First EVs with the "EV" prefix series plates on the road. Oct 2018 10% of passenger cars on the road are plug-in electrics.Dec 2018 200,000th all-electric vehicle registered. The Nissan Leaf was the best selling new passenger car in 2018, first time an electric car topped annual sales. Jan 2019 50,000th Nissan Leaf registered. A total of 673 new Leaf were registered in January 2019. Sep 2019 First EVs with the "EB" prefix series plates on the road. Dec 2019 The Tesla Model 3 listed as the best selling new car model,the second time an all-electric car topped annual sales. Apr 2020 10% of all cars on the road are all-electric. Jun 2020 300,000th battery electric vehicle was registered.Dec 2020 Over 15% of all cars on the road are plug-in electric.Plug-in car segment achieved a record market share of 74.7% of annual new passenger car sales.More than half of annual car sales were fully electric (54.3%).Sep 2021 Over 20% of all cars on the road are plug-in electric. April 2022 500,000 all-electric cars on the road. Cumulative sales passed 500,000 units by mid-February 2022, but this figure does not account for normal attrition and used car exports.Sep 2022 Over 25% of all cars on the road are plug-in electric.June 2024 Over 25% of all cars on the road are all-electric.
Sales of plug-in hybrids have had a much smaller market penetration than pure electric car sales. Plug-in hybrids are not eligible for the same tax exemptions and other government incentives enacted for electric cars. Because the Norwegian tax system levies higher taxes to heavier vehicles, plug-in hybrids are more expensive than equivalent petrol and diesel-driven cars due to the extra weight of the battery pack and its additional electric components. Beginning on 1 July 2013, the existing weight deduction for conventional hybrids and plug-in hybrids of 10% was increased to 15% for PHEVs. The weight deduction was increased to 26% effective since January 2015. This fiscal incentive combined with a broader range of models available in the market resulted in record sales of plug-in hybrids in 2015, with almost 8,000 new units registered, up from about 1,700 in 2014. The plug-in hybrid market share rose to 5.2%, up from just over 1% in 2014, and from 4.2% in September 2015 to 13.9% in September 2016.
The government set identifying letters ("EL", "EK", "EV" and "EB") for use on licence plates of electric vehicles to facilitate the enforcement of EV incentives and perks such a free parking, free passage through toll booths etc. Correspondingly, hydrogen vehicles have "HY" as identifying letters. There is no equivalent for plug-in hybrids. See section 3.2.1 Own identifying vehicle licence plate – EL, pp. 24.
As the number of registered electric cars and vans reached 60,000 units by July 2015, and because the "EL" prefix was set to end at "EL 99999" (most vehicles in the country have five-digit registration numbers between 10000 and 99999), the Norwegian Public Roads agency opted for the prefix "EK" for the second series of plates, to signify "elektrisk kjøretøy", Norwegian for electric vehicle. The "EV" prefix was set aside for future electric cars.
In July 2016, the first electric vehicles registered with the new "EK" series were on the road. About 90,000 pure electric vehicles have been registered by the end of August 2016, depleting the "EL" prefix plates. Just over two years later, in July 2018, the "EK" series was depleted, and the prefix "EV" plates were deployed. The first vehicles with the "EB" prefix series were registered in September 2019. The prefix "EB" stands for "elektrisk bil", Norwegian for electric car. The next special series will be "EC" with no particular meaning.