Norway becomes first country to sell more electric cars than petrol vehicles

The Norwegian government plans to ban the sale of petrol and diesel cars by 2025

Greenpeace UK has argued that a fast transition to electric cars could create thousands of jobs

(Getty Images)

Electric cars comprised 54% of all new vehicle sales in Norway for 2019.

This makes Norway the first country to have sold more electric cars than petrol, hybrid, and diesel engines in a year.

The Norwegian government plans to ban the sale of petrol and diesel cars by 2025, and is using tax breaks and financial incentives to encourage the purchasing of more sustainable vehicles.  

Battery electric vehicles made up 54.3% of new car sales in 2020, up from 42% in 2019, according to figures published by the Norwegian Road Federation (OFV) on Tuesday.

Cars with diesel-only engines have fallen from a height of being 75.7 per cent of the Norweigen vehicle market in 2011 to just 8.6 per cent in 2020.  

“We’re definitely on track to reach the 2025 target,” said Øyvind Thorsen, the chief executive of OFV.

The most popular model in the country was the Audi e-tron sports utility and sportsback vehicles, with the Tesla mid-size Model 3 taking second place.  

As more models are brought onto the market, the sales of electric vehicles are likely to soar into 2021, according to industry analyst,

“Our preliminary forecast is for electric cars to surpass 65% of the market in 2021,” said Christina Bu who heads the Norwegian EV Association, an interest group. “If we manage that, the goal of selling only zero-emission cars in 2025 will be within reach.“