Norway Set to Lead as First All-Electric Nation

Norway is on the brink of becoming the first country to fully transition to electric vehicles (EVs), with groundbreaking strides made in the last decade. In early 2024, Oslo’s Harald A Møller dealership, known for its long history with Volkswagens, officially said goodbye to fossil fuel-powered cars, making the switch to an all-electric showroom.

“We believe advising a customer to buy an internal combustion engine (ICE) car today is wrong,” says Ulf Tore Hekneby, CEO of Harald A Møller, reflecting the nation's sentiment on the future of transportation. “The future is electric—long-range, high-charging speeds make it hard to go back.”

In Oslo, EVs are no longer a novelty; they are the norm. Nearly half of all vehicles on the streets are electric, with the number of EVs on Norwegian roads surpassing petrol-powered cars in 2023. As of last year, electric cars accounted for 88.9% of new car sales, with certain months seeing sales as high as 98%.

This transition is the culmination of a 30-year-long effort to promote electric vehicles, starting in the early 1990s with tax incentives that made EVs more financially attractive. While Norway is a major oil and gas producer, it’s pushing to become a zero-emission nation, with a goal to make all new car sales zero-emission by 2025.

Key policies supporting this shift include exempting EVs from taxes, removing VAT, and offering perks such as free parking and discounted road tolls. With more than 27,000 public charging stations across the country, Norway boasts one of the highest EV charger per capita rates in the world.

The country’s approach is rooted in strong, predictable policies that have encouraged consumer adoption of EVs. In comparison, the UK and EU are aiming for similar goals but with later deadlines—2030 and 2035, respectively.

For many Norwegians, the decision to go electric makes financial sense due to these incentives, and with more options available than ever, EVs are becoming more accessible and practical, even in colder climates. This transition is seen as a model that other nations could replicate, provided they tailor it to their own unique circumstances and resources.

Norway’s wealth, bolstered by its oil exports and renewable hydroelectric power (which accounts for 88% of its energy production), has enabled the country to implement such ambitious infrastructure projects. In the next few years, experts predict that over 50% of cars in Norway will be electric, continuing the nation's green transformation.