---
title: "Electric Cars and Hybrids Now Make up More Than Half of Norway’s New-Car Sales"
description: "But Norway remains an exception to the rule."
date: "2018-01-03"
modified: "2018-01-03"
authors:
  - name: "Stephen Edelstein"
    job_title: "Weekend Editor"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/stephen-edelstein"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/article/17321/electric-cars-and-hybrids-now-make-up-more-than-half-of-norways-new-car-sales"
categories:
  - "Car Tech"
  - "Electric Vehicles"
  - "News"
tags:
  - "Electric Cars"
  - "hybrid"
  - "hybrids"
  - "incentives"
  - "New Car Sales"
  - "norway"
  - "policy"
---

# Electric Cars and Hybrids Now Make up More Than Half of Norway’s New-Car Sales

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2017/02/norway-electric-cars-tesla-nissan-leaf-charger.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

If you like electric cars, there's no better place to be than Norway. Electric cars and hybrids exceeded half of all new-car sales in the Scandinavian country in 2017. But a unique combination of circumstances—including [generous incentives](<https://www.thedrive.com/article/1097/norway-is-using-cold-cash-to-get-drivers-into-evs>)—still makes Norway the exception to the rule.

Electric cars and hybrids accounted for 52 percent of new-car sales in Norway in 2017, according to the Norwegian Road Federation. That's up from 40 percent in 2016 and far ahead of other countries, where electrified vehicles make up a very small percentage of new-car sales. According to the International Energy Agency, the country with the second-highest level of electric-car sales (excluding hybrids) in 2017 was The Netherlands, at 6.4 percent.

"No one else is close" in terms of electrified-vehicle market share, Norwegian Road Federation boss Oeyvind Solberg Thorsen said in an interview with [*Reuters*](<https://www.reuters.com/article/us-environment-norway-autos/more-than-half-of-new-norway-car-sales-now-electric-or-hybrid-idUSKBN1ES0WC>). That's thanks in part to incentives that include exemption from many taxes and tolls, plus free parking and charging in many locations. Most Norwegians also live in a relatively small area around the capital of Oslo, meaning they don't drive very far and thus they don't have much range anxiety.

While other countries [offer electric-car incentives](<https://www.thedrive.com/tech/17211/china-extends-tax-rebates-for-electric-cars-and-plug-in-hybrids>), Norway is by far the most aggressive. But even this electric-car loving country may be losing the political will to support sales with incentives. Last year, right-wing politicians proposed cutting some electric-car incentives, although the measure didn't make it into Norway's 2018 budget.

The Norwegian Electric Vehicle Association, a private electric-car advocacy group, said incentives are still needed in order for Norway to meet a previously-stated goal of [ending sales of new gasoline and diesel cars](<https://www.thedrive.com/article/3841/norway-might-ban-the-sale-of-new-gas-powered-cars-by-2025>) by 2025. It's an ambitious goal, but it seems Norway is already halfway there.

## Author
Stephen has always been passionate about cars, and managed to turn that passion into a career as a freelance automotive journalist. When he's not handling weekend coverage for The Drive, you can find him looking for a new book to read.

### Author social links  
[Twitter](<https://twitter.com/SAEdelstein>)