Norway Nears Goal to Sell only Electric New Cars
2025-02-09
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1Norway is very close to meeting its goal of selling only fully electric new vehicles starting this year.
2The Norwegian Road Federation (OFV), an automotive industry group, estimates that nearly 96 percent of new cars registered in Norway in January were all-electric.
3No other country has such a high rate of electric car (EV) ownership.
4The OFV noted that of the 9,343 new cars sold last month in Norway, 8,954 of them were all-electric.
5Of the 50 most-sold models, only two were non-electric.
6The first of those came in 33rd place among the 50 models, the federation said.
7The European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) reported the share of electric cars in Europe was just 13.6 percent during 2024.
8That was the first recorded decrease since 2020.
9OFV director Oyvind Solberg Thorsen said in a statement, "We've never seen this before...If the rest of the year continues like this, we will very soon be close to the 2025 goal."
10He noted that reaching 100 percent of the goal means to continue to offer the "incentives that make it profitable to choose an electric car over other models."
11Even though it is a major oil and gas producer, Norway aims to only sell "zero emission" new vehicles starting in 2025.
12That goal is 10 years ahead of the target set by the European Union (EU).
13Norway is not a member of the EU.
14One difference between the EU and Norway's method is that Norway has not banned the sale of cars with engines that burn fuel.
15Instead, Norway offers a number of tax breaks to EV manufacturers and owners.
16On the other hand, the country heavily taxes gas-powered vehicles.
17For example, Norwegian EV owners do not have to pay road tolls and receive free parking in public car parks.
18EVs are also permitted to use parts of roads normally saved for public transportation vehicles.
19While some tax breaks and incentives have been reduced over the years, EVs have still kept expanding across Norwegian roads.
20Frode Hvattum is a 50-year-old father of three who owns two EVs.
21He told the French News Agency AFP he started buying EVs because of his concern for the environment and for the benefits of driving them.
22He lives in an area near Oslo where the streets are full of Teslas, Audis and Volkswagens.
23Some less costly Chinese EVs are increasingly appearing too.
24Many homes have a device to charge, or supply electricity to, their EV's battery.
25Norway also has a large national network of superfast charging stations.
26Having a nationwide charging network was important for Hvattum, who, like many Norwegians, often travels by car to his second home in the mountains several hours outside Oslo.
27He said he finds it easy to plan and make trips with numerous charging stations available.
28"You don't have to plan your trip as much as before," Hvattum said.
29He added that he uses the 15-to-20-minute charging breaks his vehicle needs to make it up to the mountains to shop for food.
30Even if EV sales fail to meet the 100 percent mark this year, experts say Norway can still be seen as having met its goal.
31Christina Bu heads the Norwegian Electric Vehicle Association.
32She told AFP, "We should finish the year at between 95 and 100 percent."
33I'm Jill Robbins.
1Norway is very close to meeting its goal of selling only fully electric new vehicles starting this year. 2The Norwegian Road Federation (OFV), an automotive industry group, estimates that nearly 96 percent of new cars registered in Norway in January were all-electric. No other country has such a high rate of electric car (EV) ownership. 3The OFV noted that of the 9,343 new cars sold last month in Norway, 8,954 of them were all-electric. Of the 50 most-sold models, only two were non-electric. The first of those came in 33rd place among the 50 models, the federation said. 4The European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) reported the share of electric cars in Europe was just 13.6 percent during 2024. That was the first recorded decrease since 2020. 5OFV director Oyvind Solberg Thorsen said in a statement, "We've never seen this before...If the rest of the year continues like this, we will very soon be close to the 2025 goal." He noted that reaching 100 percent of the goal means to continue to offer the "incentives that make it profitable to choose an electric car over other models." 6Even though it is a major oil and gas producer, Norway aims to only sell "zero emission" new vehicles starting in 2025. That goal is 10 years ahead of the target set by the European Union (EU). Norway is not a member of the EU. 7One difference between the EU and Norway's method is that Norway has not banned the sale of cars with engines that burn fuel. Instead, Norway offers a number of tax breaks to EV manufacturers and owners. On the other hand, the country heavily taxes gas-powered vehicles. 8For example, Norwegian EV owners do not have to pay road tolls and receive free parking in public car parks. EVs are also permitted to use parts of roads normally saved for public transportation vehicles. 9Chargers everywhere 10While some tax breaks and incentives have been reduced over the years, EVs have still kept expanding across Norwegian roads. 11Frode Hvattum is a 50-year-old father of three who owns two EVs. He told the French News Agency AFP he started buying EVs because of his concern for the environment and for the benefits of driving them. 12He lives in an area near Oslo where the streets are full of Teslas, Audis and Volkswagens. Some less costly Chinese EVs are increasingly appearing too. 13Many homes have a device to charge, or supply electricity to, their EV's battery. Norway also has a large national network of superfast charging stations. 14Having a nationwide charging network was important for Hvattum, who, like many Norwegians, often travels by car to his second home in the mountains several hours outside Oslo. He said he finds it easy to plan and make trips with numerous charging stations available. 15"You don't have to plan your trip as much as before," Hvattum said. He added that he uses the 15-to-20-minute charging breaks his vehicle needs to make it up to the mountains to shop for food. 16Meeting its goal 17Even if EV sales fail to meet the 100 percent mark this year, experts say Norway can still be seen as having met its goal. 18Christina Bu heads the Norwegian Electric Vehicle Association. She told AFP, "We should finish the year at between 95 and 100 percent." 19I'm Jill Robbins. 20Pierre-Henry Deshayes reported this story for Agence France-Presse. Jill Robbins adapted it for Learning English. 21______________________________________________________ 22Words in This Story 23incentive - n. something that urges a person to act in a particular way 24emission - n. harmful substances released into the air by automobiles or factories burning oil or coal 25toll - n. an amount of money that you are required to pay for the use of a road or bridge 26benefit - n. a good result or effect