The share of electric vehicles in new registrations in Norway rose to a record level in 2019, facilitated by Tesla Inc.'s best year in northern Europe.

Sales of new cars in 2019 decreased by 3.8 percent compared to 2018. Although the sales curve for diesel and gasoline cars has declined, sales of new electric vehicles have risen. At the same time, sales of rechargeable hybrids fell 27.3 percent in 2019. This was reported by the Norwegian Road Federation (OFV) in a press release.

For the first time in several years, gasoline car sales fell more sharply than diesel car sales, the fall was 31.4%, and diesel car sales fell only 13.1%.

The fact that gas-powered cars sales fell by a percentage more than for diesel cars is partly due to the fact that many gasoline cars are small cars, and for them there are currently many full or semi-electric alternatives. Diesel cars tend to be larger, more powerful and more spacious family cars that more people want. This is also reflected in the sale of large electric vehicles, says Oyvind Solberg Thorsen, director of OFV.

Image source: kimkim

Fully electric cars made up 42.4% of sales in the Nordic country last year, a global record, rising from a 31.2% market share in 2018 and just 5.5% in 2013, the Norwegian Road Federation said.

Tesla sold a record 18,798 cars, led by a flow of its new Model 3 in the first half of the year.

Norway, the largest oil and gas producer in Europe, aims to be the first country to stop selling fossil fuel vehicles by 2025. The country has exempted battery-powered cars from taxes levied on gasoline and diesel cars.

Sales of new cars in the country last year amounted to 142,381, of which 60,316 were fully electric. Volkswagen remained the best-selling brand in 2019, but edged Tesla by only about 150 cars, Oyvind Solberg said in a presentation. Each of these brands accounted for about 13% of the total sales of new cars - 142,381.

According to the Tesla report for the third quarter, the northern countries were the third largest market for them in terms of sales for the first nine months of 2019. The Tesla Model 3 was by far the best-selling model in Norway last year with 15,683 cars, taking over the top position from Nissan’s Leaf.

«Collapse in petrol car sales in 2019” in Norway (DN business daily)

Sales development YoY:
- Total car sales: -3.8%
- EV: +30% 🎉🥳
- Plugin hybrid -27.3%
- Petrol -31.4%
- Diesel -13.1%

EV market share: 42.4% @elonmusk @Tesla @vincent13031925 https://t.co/zzgpsEtgP7 pic.twitter.com/osMYV7Oeyh

— Tesla Driver 🙋‍♂️🧢🇳🇴🚀😷 (@M_xalher) January 3, 2020

Raising awareness of climate change around the world has contributed to changing rules, technology and consumer preferences, undermining the gasoline-powered auto industry and adding value to Tesla. This has made it one of the most valuable automotive brands in the world.

Featured image: u/30trillioncells/Reddit