There is one country in Europe where electric cars account for 92% of the market

We're in Norway, and here in July, sales of all-electric vehicles are at an all-time high, while sales of petrol and diesel vehicles are down to 45 units.

Photo by: Suzuki

By: Alberto Carmone

Aug 22, 2024 at 5:03am ET

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The Scandinavian countries are among the most 'electrified' in Europe. Data from the Opplysningsrådet for Veitrafikken (OFV) website describes the situation well: 91.9% of cars registered in Norway in July 2024 were electric.

The figures are even higher than last year, when BEVs accounted for 81.7% of all cars sold in the country. Combustion engine cars now account for only a tiny proportion of cars registered, to the extent that only 45 non-electrified models were sold, according to the OFV.

Suzuki Swift "dominates

Most of these 45 'survivors' are cars available exclusively in non-electric versions. It is also true that the Suzuki Swift leads this mini ranking, with ten units registered. The rest include six Porsche 911s, five Mazda MX-5s, two BMW 1 Series, two BMW M2s and two ambulances based on the Volvo XC90.

Individual models such as the Suzuki Ignis and Vitara and a Mazda CX-30 complete the picture.

Hybrids and plug-in hybrids fared slightly better, with a share of 4.8%. However, this percentage is down on last year (14%), partly because the Norwegian government has abolished tax breaks for owning these types of car from January 2024.

The Norwegian car fleet

As of 15 March, battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) accounted for 24.3% of Norway's total fleet of 2.9 million cars, while petrol cars still held a 26.9% share, according to data provided by the Norwegian administration.

The situation is different if we consider the number of diesel cars, which remains at around 370,000 in the country. While the overtaking of petrol cars seems imminent, analysts estimate that it will be another three to four years before electric cars overtake diesel cars in terms of numbers.

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Ingvild Kilen Roerholt, head of transport research at the Zero think tank in Oslo, pointed out that by this year, electric vehicles could overtake petrol cars in Norway, despite the fact that the government has abolished VAT exemption for BEVs costing more than NOK 500,000 (around £37,000) from 2023.