Norway reached a new milestone in electric vehicle adoption, with electric cars accounting for 95.8% of new passenger car registrations in January 2025. Out of 9,343 new cars registered, 8,954 were fully electric. This marks a significant increase from the same period in the previous year, when 92.1% of new registrations were electric, but with a smaller total number of carsā4,717 out of 5,122.
The Norwegian Road Information Authority (OFV) views this as a reflection of “economic optimism,” noting that the number of new car registrations is approaching pre-2023 levels, when the market faced a decline.
Ćyvind Solberg Thorsen, Director of OFV, emphasized the economic recovery and its impact on consumer behavior, saying, āWith over 9,300 new passenger cars in the first month of the year, we are roughly at the level we were used to before the sharp decline in new car sales in 2023 and 2024.ā Thorsen added that the expectation of interest rate cuts and rising purchasing power could further boost demand for new vehicles.
The surge in electric car registrations aligns with Norway’s non-binding target of having only fully electric new car registrations by the end of 2025. While the nearly 96% share in January 2025 is a new record, OFV cautions that reaching a 100% share by the end of the year is unlikely.
Thorsen pointed out that in the final days of January, the proportion of electric vehicles slightly decreased, with some consumers opting for diesel or petrol cars. In total, in addition to the 8,954 electric vehicles, there were 137 diesel cars, 124 petrol hybrids, 94 plug-in hybrids, and 33 pure petrol cars registered.
The trend towards electric vehicles is particularly evident in Norwayās model rankings. Among the top 50 models, only two are non-electric, with the first non-BEV in 33rd place.
Toyotaās shift towards electric models is evident, as the Toyota bZ4X topped the January rankings with 1,188 new registrations, followed by the Volkswagen ID.4 with 830 registrations, and the Nissan Ariya in third with 544. Volkswagen led the brand rankings with 1,899 new registrations, surpassing Toyota, which registered 1,354 vehicles.
Tesla, despite its strong presence with the Model Y, saw lower registrations with just 361 units in January, possibly due to the ongoing transition to the Model Y Juniper. The BMW i4 and Ford Explorer were also among the top electric vehicles for January, with 243 and 221 registrations, respectively.