2021: A milestone for electric cars in Norway
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A new record for Norwegian EV sales in 2021: Almost 65 percent of all new cars sold in 2021 were fully electric.
– January is my favorite month of the year. It’s always fun to celebrate new records, especially when the entire nation has participated, tells Christina Bu, Secretary-General of the Norwegian EV Association.
2021 turned out to be the year the EV sales skyrocketed in Norway, where groundbreaking records became a frequent occurrence.
In December electric vehicles (EVs) had a market share of 67 percent, however, September proved to be the record month of 2021, with a staggering 77.5 percent electric market share.
New car sales: 64.5 percent EV share
– Throughout the entire Nordic country of Norway, the vast majority of Norwegians now choose to buy electric instead of combustion engine cars, thereby contributing to Norway achieving its climate goals, Bu says.
For 2021 as a whole, the Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) share of the passenger car market, ended at an all-time high with 64.5 percent, according to recent statistics for new cars registered from the Norwegian Road Federation (OFV).
– And make no mistake: The record-breaking percentage is exclusively for fully electric cars, no hybrids involved here, adds Bu.
Plug-in hybrids ended at a market share of 21.9 percent, only slightly higher than the year before.
Tesla on top
After 11 years in a row with Volkswagen residing at the throne of the Norwegian car market, 2021 was the year for a new car brand on the number one spot: Last year Tesla was the most sold car brand in Norway.
Part of the explanation is that Tesla Model 3 also was Norway’s best-selling car model by far in 2021.
Next in line was the plug-in hybrid Toyota RAV4, followed by Volkswagen ID.4 and Tesla Model Y.
– For the first time a fully electric car brand is topping the list of the new cars sold in Norway, although some of the traditional car manufacturers are not far behind, says Christina Bu.
Last year for instance Audi had an EV-share of 93 percent, whereas Hyundai had a share of 89 percent. Toyota was Norway’s third-largest car brand in 2021, but it had only an EV-share of 1.5 percent.
– However, Toyota has announced a massive push towards EV production in the coming years with numerous launches in 2022, so it will certainly be exciting to see to what extent they will be catching up, Bu says.
The World’s leading EV conference to be held in Norway
2022 will also be the year Norway will host the world’s biggest summit on electric mobility: Electrical Vehicle Symposium – EVS35.
The Norwegian EV Association will host the conference together with The European Association for Electromobility (AVERE) and Nova Spectrum.
– Norway has become one of the world’s most proactive countries on electrification and electric mobility. The world is looking to us when finding solutions to reduce climate emissions and eco-friendly city development, Christina Bu says.
Believe the Norwegian EV share will surpass 80 percent in 2022
Back in 2016, the Norwegian Parliament passed an aim stating that by 2025, all new cars sold should in Norway be zero-emission (electric or hydrogen).
– In 2025 Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre can become historic, being the first prime minister in a county where all new cars are fully electric. But if that is to happen, it is crucial that the Government’s strong EV policy continues. We are getting close to reaching this national goal, but we’re not there yet, warns Bu.
The Norwegian EV Association believes that the EV policy and a rapidly expanding number of EV’s covering a wide range of different needs will make 2022 another record-breaking year for electric cars.
– We believe that the EV share will go beyond 80 percent in 2022. What still needs to be done, is a major investment in charging infrastructure, says Bu.
Important to improve EV sales in the leasing market
Back to the Norwegian EV sales last year, it was clear that the leasing market and businesses still were lagging on EV’s compared to the segment for privately purchased cars.
Amongst people who bought new cars privately, in fact, 83.1 percent chose EV’s. What took the percentage down, was the fact that only 42.6 percent of new cars bought or leased by companies were electric.
– 2022 must be the year we secure that EVs also dominate in the leasing market, concludes Christina Bu.