Some 95.9% of all new car sales in Norway last year were electric cars, new data from Opplysningsrådet for veitrafikken (OFV), the Norwegian Road Federation has found.
In December alone, the electric car share stood at 97.6%, indicating the level to which electric vehicles now dominate the vehicle sales market in Norway.
The country reported a total of 179,549 new passenger car registrations last year, breaking the previous annual record from 2021, with 35,187 new passenger cars registered in December, an increase of 157.7% on the corresponding month a year earlier.
Policy decisions
Geir Inge Stokke, OFV director, attributed the strong EV sales in 2025 to “the effect of long-term and targeted electric car policy, and how specific tax decisions have immediate effects on the market. The final sprint towards the end of the year has been historically strong, and there is no doubt that the VAT change from January 1, 2026 has contributed to a great many choosing to secure a new electric car before the year was over.”
Some ten years ago, Norway’s government set the target of all new car sales to be emission-free by 2025, with this target close to now being achieved. Just 1% of new car sales were diesel, with petrol cars accounting for 0.3% of new car sales.
Regional variations were still evident, however – while several counties reported an electric car share of 97% or above, the share was 86% in Finnmark, in the north of the country, where the availability of charging stations isn’t as widespread.
“We should be proud that Norway has reached the rather ambitious zero-emission target for new car sales,” Stokke added. “At the same time, it is important to remember that around two out of three passenger cars on the road still run on fossil fuels, in addition to the fact that there are regional differences in new car sales. So even though this is an important milestone, we must continue working towards an emission-free vehicle fleet.”
Tesla rules the road
Tesla remains Norway’s largest car brand, with 19.1% of the market, and 34,285 new vehicles registered in 2025. Tesla’s Model Y set a new national record for a single model, with 27,621 registrations during the year.
Other brands to report a notable share of new car sales in 2025 included Volkswagen (13.3%), Volvo (7.8%), Toyota (5.8%), BMW (5.6%) and Skoka (5.2%).
