Electric cars already won — in Norway

Fully electric vehicles made up 88.9% of new cars sold in 2024, according to data released by the Norwegian Road Federation (OFV). That’s up from 82.4% in 2023. In total, 128,691 cars were registered in Norway in 2024, an increase of 1.4% compared to a year earlier.

As the OVF notes, Norway is leagues ahead of other countries in the so-called “electric car race.” As of 2023, Sweden and Iceland are the runners-up, with about 61% and 60% of new car purchases being electric, according to the European Environment Agency.

Norway aims to sell only zero-emission passenger and light-duty vehicles by the end of 2025. Although progress has grown in recent years — more EVs are now on the road than gasoline-powered cars — reaching that ambitious goal will likely be a difficult task.

“The figures and the increase in share show that the last few percentages to reach the 2025 target may be difficult to achieve,” OFV Director Øyvind Solberg Thorsen said in a statement.

Solberg Thorsen said that it is “absolutely crucial” that the Norwegian government maintain its current incentives for EV purchases. Norway began introducing generous incentives for zero-emission cars in the 1990s. For example, residents pay higher taxes on cars they purchase that pollute and lower taxes on low- and zero-emission cars.

The best-selling cars in Norway were almost all electric options. The number one and two top sellers are Tesla $TSLA’s (TSLA) Model Y SUV and Model 3 compact, which together accounted for more than 18% of all new cars sold in 2024, according to the OVF.

Following Tesla, Volkswagen (VWAGY), Toyota $TM (TM), Volvo (GELYF), and BMW (BMWYY) were the most popular automakers in Norway last year. Although many people currently purchase cars from brands they’re more familiar with, Chinese competitors are quickly becoming popular, Solberg Thorsen said.

BYD (BYDDY), China’s biggest automaker, accounted for 2.1% of sales in 2024, with 2,669 vehicles sold. Xpeng (XPEV) also joined BTD as one of the top 20 car brands in Norway for the year.

Volvo, along with its EV subsidiary, Polestar, is also a popular brand, with the company selling more than 7,200 EX30 electric SUVs in 2024. Chinese giant Geely acquired Volvo from Ford $F Motor Co. (F) in 2010.

Although more passenger cars are becoming electric in Norway, electric vans haven’t made as much progress. Electric vans accounted for just 30% of the 27,496 vans registered in 2024, with the OVF pointing to a need to rework incentives to drive purchases.