????????In Norway, nearly all new cars sold in 2024 were fully electric

????????Nine out of ten new cars sold in Norway last year were powered by battery only, registration data showed on Thursday (Jan. 2), placing the country within reach of its target of only adding cars that are electric on the road by 2025.

Fully electric vehicles accounted for 88.9% of new cars sold in 2024, up from 82.4% in 2023, data from the Norwegian Road Federation (OFV) showed.

"Norway will be the first country in the world to pretty much erase petrol and diesel engine cars from the new car market," said Christina Bu, head of the Norwegian EV association.

Norway penalises petrol and diesel cars with high taxes, while exempting EVs from import and value-added taxes to make them more attractive, although some levies were reintroduced in 2023.

The policy has worked because it has been consistent over time, maintained by governments of various political persuasion, experts said.

"Very often we see in other countries that someone puts tax incentives or exemptions and then they pull back again," Bu said.

Also helpful is the fact that Norway does not have an automaker lobby.

"We are not a car-producing country ... so taxing cars highly in the past was simple," said Ulf Tore Hekneby, head of Norway's biggest car importer, Harald A. Moeller.

Having incentives, rather than banning petrol and diesel cars, was crucial too, said Bu. "That would (have) made people angry. People don't like being told what to do," she said.

Norway's policies mean that fully electric cars last year overtook pure petrol cars on Norwegian roads. They accounted for more than 28% of all cars driven in the Nordic country as of December, according to Public Road Administration data.

ℹ️ @Reuters

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