Registration data shows that Tesla and Volkswagen were the two most popular EV makes, according to a Reuters report. Teslas (especially the Model Y) comprised 12.2% of EVs sold in Norway in 2022, dominating the market for the second year in a row. (Compared with the not-so-positive events it experienced in 2022, this is great news for Tesla.) Volkswagen followed closely behind at 11.6%.
Norway’s electric achievement comes in the midst of a global push toward battery-powered vehicles. Last year California legislators voted to ban the sale of new gas-powered cars within the state after 2035. Critical parts of American infrastructure from the United States Postal Service to the Department of Defense are swapping out their combustion engine vehicles for EVs. Across the pond, France is working to incentivize EV leases as the European Union works to eliminate new combustion engine sales after 2035.
Volkswagen’s flagship EV, the ID.4, likely contributed to its hefty Norwegian market share. (Image: VW)
EV have largely succeeded in Norway due to the country’s ample subsidies, which have until now made electric models tax-exempt. But a change to Norway’s automotive tax structure has caused some concern about the country’s electric future. Norway has reportedly lost NOK 39.4 billion ($4.0 billion) by making EVs tax-exempt and is looking to recoup some of its losses by taxing luxury vehicles. Beginning this year, EVs that cost more than NOK 500,000 ($46,661) will be subject to the country’s 25% auto sales tax, according to a Norwegian news outlet.
Not all EVs meet Norway’s luxury threshold, of course, meaning vehicles like the locally-beloved Volkswagen ID.4 and the Tesla Model 3 will remain tax-free. Still, some environmentalists and EV enthusiasts worry that the tax reintroduction will discourage potential EV first-timers from going electric at all, opting instead for the conventional combustion engine. Others believe Norway’s momentum is too strong to break—including the country’s own transport ministry.
“We are very confident that the electric car is here to stay,” state secretary Johan Vasara told Reuters.
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