Norway Nearly Eliminates Gas Cars From New Sales in 2025

Norway recorded 95.9% electric car sales in 2025, according to official data. Learn what drove the surge and what tax changes may mean for 2026.

Norway moved to the brink of eliminating combustion-engine cars from new vehicle sales in 2025. Fully electric vehicles accounted for 95.9% of all new registrations, a level that only a few years ago seemed unattainable even for the most advanced markets.

A decade earlier, electric cars represented less than a third of new sales. By contrast, gasoline and diesel vehicles have now become a rarity in Norwegian showrooms, purchased mainly for niche applications where no suitable electric alternatives exist.

Total new car registrations reached 179,549 units in 2025, marking a sharp 40% increase compared with the previous year. A significant part of that surge was driven by timing. Buyers accelerated purchases ahead of tax changes scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2026, when the VAT exemption for electric vehicles will apply only to the first NOK 300,000 of a car’s price, down from NOK 500,000 previously.

Despite the gradual scaling back of incentives, demand for electric vehicles remained exceptionally strong throughout the year. In several months, zero-emission vehicles accounted for more than 97–98% of registrations, and in April all of the top thirty best-selling models were fully electric.

Tesla retained its position as the market leader for a fifth consecutive year, capturing 19.1% of total sales, followed by Volkswagen and Volvo. At the same time, Chinese automakers continued to expand their footprint. Their combined market share rose to 13.7%, up from 10.4% in 2024, with several Chinese models entering the monthly top-ten rankings for the first time.

Norway’s rapid transition has not relied solely on incentives for electric cars. High registration fees and fuel taxes have made combustion-engine vehicles significantly more expensive to buy and operate, tipping the economic balance decisively in favor of electric alternatives.

In effect, Norway has fulfilled a goal set back in 2017: making electric vehicles the dominant choice by 2025. Attention is now shifting to 2026, the first full year under tighter tax rules. Early indications suggest the changes may not slow electric adoption itself, but could influence the size and price segment of vehicles buyers choose, potentially accelerating demand for smaller and more affordable electric cars.