In 2021, electric cars accounted for nearly two-thirds of new car sales in Norway, with Tesla being the best-selling brand overall, as the country strives to be the first to phase out gasoline and diesel vehicles.
While Norway has the highest proportion of electric vehicles in the world, with a population of 5.4 million, China, with 1.4 billion people, is by far the largest overall automotive market.
Norway, a major oil producer, has aided the transition to zero-emission vehicles by exempting battery electric vehicles (BEVs) from taxes levied on internal combustion engines (ICE).
This tax exemption is estimated to push the proportion of global electric vehicles sales to as high as 80 per cent of the total vehicle sales by 2022, well ahead of a timetable to phase out gasoline and diesel vehicles by 2025.
In 2021, total new automobile sales in Norway increased by 25 per cent to a record 176,276 vehicles, with 65 per cent of them being fully electric ones. In comparison, the market share of electric vehicles in the country was 54 per cent in 2020.
Despite its small size, Norway's affluent population is viewed as a significant market for new BEV companies such as China's Nio and Polestar, a Swedish Volvo Cars affiliate.
According to the Norwegian Road Federation (NRF), Tesla had an 11.6 per cent share of Norway's overall automobile market in 2021, making which made it the top electric brand in the country for the first time on a full-year basis, ahead of Germany's Volkswagen which had a market share of 9.6 per cent.
The American automaker beat Wall Street projections for quarterly sales on Sunday, beating a worldwide semiconductor shortage as it increased its up China manufacturing, which sent its stock to a one-month high on Monday.
In Norway, the Tesla Model 3 was the most popular model of the year, more popular than Toyota's hybrid RAV4, the only car in the top ten of the electric vehicle list that has an internal combustion engine, and Volkswagen's electric ID.4, which came in third.
EV sales are expected to reach up to 80 per cent of the overall market in Norway by 2022, according to industry representatives, though supply chain issues may put a halt to this.
"We believe we will exceed 80% electric cars next year," said Christina Bu who heads the Norwegian EV Association.
"But there is a big uncertainty in that forecast, and it is dependent on the shipping conundrum - many car producers have delivery problems," she added.
"Norway is the country with the biggest openness to EVs, the biggest understanding of what it is to drive an EV, and the most welcoming for having an alternative," Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath said.
Polestar's luxury sedan was Norway's 10th most popular automobile model in 2021, and the Polestar 3 SUV will launch in 2022.
"To launch this premium SUV ... will definitely change the way people will perceive Polestar so I have really big expectations for moving the brand forward," Ingenlath said.
In keeping with Beijing's objective to establish a world-class auto industry that can compete with traditional automakers, Chinese EV manufacturers have been striving to increase exports.
Nio opened its first international showrooms in central Oslo in 2021, with the goal of selling its ES8 sport utility cars and ET7 sedans as part of its global expansion goals.
Stations for charging and battery exchange are also planned.
"Our swapping station strategy we will expand quite strongly (in 2022)," Marius Hayler, head of Nio Norway, said, adding that he expects some 75 per cent of overall car sales to be electric in 2022.
While tax breaks assist in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, they cost the government 30 billion Norwegian crowns ($3.41 billion) in lost revenue last year, according to estimates from the finance ministry.
As a result, the ruling centre-left coalition proposes to progressively begin charging the most expensive BEVs starting in 2023, while gasoline, diesel, and hybrid vehicle levies are set to rise this year.
(Source:www.carandbike.com)
While Norway has the highest proportion of electric vehicles in the world, with a population of 5.4 million, China, with 1.4 billion people, is by far the largest overall automotive market.
Norway, a major oil producer, has aided the transition to zero-emission vehicles by exempting battery electric vehicles (BEVs) from taxes levied on internal combustion engines (ICE).
This tax exemption is estimated to push the proportion of global electric vehicles sales to as high as 80 per cent of the total vehicle sales by 2022, well ahead of a timetable to phase out gasoline and diesel vehicles by 2025.
In 2021, total new automobile sales in Norway increased by 25 per cent to a record 176,276 vehicles, with 65 per cent of them being fully electric ones. In comparison, the market share of electric vehicles in the country was 54 per cent in 2020.
Despite its small size, Norway's affluent population is viewed as a significant market for new BEV companies such as China's Nio and Polestar, a Swedish Volvo Cars affiliate.
According to the Norwegian Road Federation (NRF), Tesla had an 11.6 per cent share of Norway's overall automobile market in 2021, making which made it the top electric brand in the country for the first time on a full-year basis, ahead of Germany's Volkswagen which had a market share of 9.6 per cent.
The American automaker beat Wall Street projections for quarterly sales on Sunday, beating a worldwide semiconductor shortage as it increased its up China manufacturing, which sent its stock to a one-month high on Monday.
In Norway, the Tesla Model 3 was the most popular model of the year, more popular than Toyota's hybrid RAV4, the only car in the top ten of the electric vehicle list that has an internal combustion engine, and Volkswagen's electric ID.4, which came in third.
EV sales are expected to reach up to 80 per cent of the overall market in Norway by 2022, according to industry representatives, though supply chain issues may put a halt to this.
"We believe we will exceed 80% electric cars next year," said Christina Bu who heads the Norwegian EV Association.
"But there is a big uncertainty in that forecast, and it is dependent on the shipping conundrum - many car producers have delivery problems," she added.
"Norway is the country with the biggest openness to EVs, the biggest understanding of what it is to drive an EV, and the most welcoming for having an alternative," Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath said.
Polestar's luxury sedan was Norway's 10th most popular automobile model in 2021, and the Polestar 3 SUV will launch in 2022.
"To launch this premium SUV ... will definitely change the way people will perceive Polestar so I have really big expectations for moving the brand forward," Ingenlath said.
In keeping with Beijing's objective to establish a world-class auto industry that can compete with traditional automakers, Chinese EV manufacturers have been striving to increase exports.
Nio opened its first international showrooms in central Oslo in 2021, with the goal of selling its ES8 sport utility cars and ET7 sedans as part of its global expansion goals.
Stations for charging and battery exchange are also planned.
"Our swapping station strategy we will expand quite strongly (in 2022)," Marius Hayler, head of Nio Norway, said, adding that he expects some 75 per cent of overall car sales to be electric in 2022.
While tax breaks assist in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, they cost the government 30 billion Norwegian crowns ($3.41 billion) in lost revenue last year, according to estimates from the finance ministry.
As a result, the ruling centre-left coalition proposes to progressively begin charging the most expensive BEVs starting in 2023, while gasoline, diesel, and hybrid vehicle levies are set to rise this year.
(Source:www.carandbike.com)