Norway EV Market Share Breaks All Records — 75% Of Vehicles Sold Have Plugs!
Norway’s electric vehicle revolution broke new ground in March 2020, with plug-in vehicles now representing over 75% of vehicle sales in the country. Of the remaining quarter share, plug-less hybrids took 7.1%, diesel 10%, and petrol 7.7%.
As usual in Norway, pure battery electric vehicles (BEVs) were favoured over plug-in hybrids (PHEVs), by a ratio of approximately 3:1. BEVs alone represented 55.9% of the total auto market.
Given the current virus pandemic (which may now be past its peak in Norway), overall March auto sales volume dropped by 32.2% year on year from March 2019. EVs fared much better than pure combustion vehicles, however, falling a more modest 26.7%. We can expect auto sales to return closer to historical volumes later this year.
March EV market share growth is in line with the long-term trend, and builds upon the previous record result from March 2019:
Favourite full-electric models in March 2020 included the Audi e-tron (in both its new “50” and original “55” variants), the Tesla Model 3, the venerable VW e-Golf, the Nissan LEAF, and the Hyundai Kona EV:
The Kona’s unusually healthy volume is helped by the recent opening of Hyundai’s new Nosovice factory in the Czech Republic, targeting production of 30,000 units dedicated to European markets this year. Always an in-demand model, the Kona has typically been severely supply limited in the past.
The VW ID.3 will likely shake up the best-seller list later this year, if VW can resolve its software challenges.
Hyundai Kona EV / Hyundai
Pure combustion vehicles are fast facing extinction in Norway, with neither petrol nor diesel getting above 10% of the market last month. Even old-school plug-less hybrids are on their way out, with folks evidently preferring a generous amount of all-electric range, which can be powered by Norway’s clean, abundant, and affordable renewable electricity.
All of this foreshadows the new configuration of transportation that the rest of Europe is also now quickly transitioning towards.
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