Norway says goodbye to internal combustion engines: in October electric cars "captured" 94% of the new car market

Norway plans to phase out cars with internal combustion engines by 2025, and it seems to be succeeding— already in October, electric vehicles accounted for 94% of new car salesin the Norwegian market (almost double the rate in China).

As noted by Bloomberg, the shift from internal combustion engines to electric vehicles has occurred at an extraordinary pace. Although Norway has long implemented incentives to promote the purchase of electric vehicles (such as tax exemptions and free tolls), the adoption has particularly accelerated in recent years, thanks to a wider variety of electric vehicles available.

Currently, there are over 160 models of electric vehicles available on the Norwegian market (compared to just 10 a decade ago), with Tesla emerging as the best-selling brand.

Norway's progress contrasts with trends in other countries: in Europe, electric vehicle sales have declined this year, while in the U.S., manufacturers are concerned about the re-election of Donald Trump, which could hinder the country's move towards zero-emission vehicles.

At the same time, Norway still faces certain challenges: in rural areas, residents are hesitant to use electric vehicles due to uneven roads and the distance to charging stations (the country has over 29,000 public charging devices installed overall). Some car owners are simply reluctant to part with their old vehicles.

According to OFV, the national road federation, the average age of gasoline cars has increased to 19 years (compared to 16 in 2020), and the same is true for diesel vehicles. Despite all this, Norway currently has 1 million fewer gasoline cars on its roads than 20 years ago.

One of the key aspects of Norway's successful transition to electric vehicles is that it is not mandatory. Gasoline and diesel cars can still be sold in 2025 and beyond—unlike the European Union's plan to ban them by 2035.