Photo by JUICE on Unsplash (illustrative)
On 2 January 2026, Norway's road traffic information council, OFV, reported that 95.9% of all new passenger cars registered in the country in 2025 were fully electric. It was also the biggest year for new car sales in Norway's history, with 179,550 cars registered.
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Key facts
95.9% of new passenger cars registered in 2025 were battery-electric, up from 88.9% in 2024.
In December 2025 alone, the electric share reached 97.6%.
In late 2025, electric cars overtook diesel cars as the most common type in Norway's car fleet, at about 31.8% of all cars.
OFV statistics show the electric share at 97.9% for January to September 2026.
Why it matters
Norway shows that a whole national car market can switch to electric within about a decade when policy is steady and predictable. Fewer petrol and diesel cars mean cleaner city air and lower transport emissions, and other countries are watching the model closely.
Worth noting
Norway's switch relied on generous tax breaks for electric cars and rising charges on fossil-fuel cars. The December rush was partly driven by a VAT change for electric cars from 1 January 2026, and roughly two-thirds of all cars on Norway's roads still burn fossil fuels.
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