OSLO, Jan 3 — Nine out of ten new cars sold in Norway last year were powered by battery only, registration data showed on Thursday, placing the country within reach of its target of only adding cars that are electric on the road by 2025.

Fully electric vehicles accounted for 88.9 per cent of new cars sold in 2024, up from 82.4 per cent in 2023, data from the Norwegian Road Federation (OFV) showed.

Top-selling brands were Tesla, followed by Volkswagen and Toyota. Chinese EVs now account for almost 10 per cent of new car sales.

“Norway will be the first country in the world to pretty much erase petrol and diesel engine cars from the new car market,” said Christina Bu, head of the Norwegian EV association.

Carrot and stick approach

Oil-producing Norway penalises petrol and diesel cars with high taxes, while exempting EVs from import and value-added taxes to make them more attractive, although some levies were reintroduced in 2023.