Electric cars accounted for nearly 80% of new passenger vehicle registrations in Norway last year, according to figures presented Monday by a specialized body, a world record. In the EU, the average is only 8.6%.
Driven by the American Tesla, at the top of the manufacturer rankings with 12.2% of the market, 138,265 new electric cars were sold last year in the Scandinavian country, i.e. 79.3% of total sales of private vehicles. new ones, the Norwegian Road Traffic Information Council (FOV) said.
In doing so, Norway, which is both a major hydrocarbon producer and a zero-emission car champion, smashed its own record set in 2021 (64.5%). By way of comparison, electric represented 8.6% of new registrations in the European Union over the first nine months of 2022. In Switzerland, this percentage reaches 17.3% (read framed).
In Norway, in December alone, all-electric cars captured 82.8% of sales as Norwegian households rushed ahead of a tax change that made their purchase more expensive.
The Beaten Ladybug
Tesla’s Model Y was the best-selling vehicle last year, accounting for one in ten new registrations, ahead of the ID.4 (Volkswagen) and Enyaq (Skoda), both also electric. With more than 17,000 copies sold, Elon Musk’s group can boast of having broken the local sales record held since 1969 by the legendary Volkswagen Beetle.
Norway aims for 100% of its new cars to be zero emissions – all-electric or hydrogen-powered – by 2025, thanks in particular to ultra-favorable taxation. “Eight out of ten people opt for all-electric rather than combustion engines. This is a huge step towards Norway reaching its climate target by 2025,” commented Christina Bu, Secretary General of the Norwegian Vehicle Association. electrical.
“Our message to the rest of the world is clear: there is no longer any excuse to accept unnecessary pollution from internal combustion engines when solving the climate crisis is so urgently needed,” she added.
Gradual end of state incentives
As the electric segment has matured, the Norwegian authorities have begun to trim certain advantages which weigh heavily on the public accounts. In 2022, the shortfall in tax revenue for the State was estimated at nearly 40 billion crowns (3.8 billion francs).
Since January 1, the VAT exemption (at a rate of 25%) when acquiring a new electric vehicle is therefore only valid within the limit of a purchase price of 500,000 crowns. (47,300 francs), amounts above this ceiling being subject to tax.
A tax on new vehicles has also been modified to take account of their weight and also applies to electric models. Today, one in five cars on Norwegian roads is fully electric, another world record.
furr with afp