Tesla boom lifts Norway's electric car sales to 58% market share

[OSLO] Almost 60 per cent of all new cars sold in Norway in March were fully electric, the Norwegian Road Federation (NRF) said on Monday, a global record set by a country seeking to end fossil-fueled vehicles sales by 2025.

Exempting battery engines from taxes imposed on diesel and petrol cars has upended Norway's auto market, elevating brands like Tesla and Nissan, with its Leaf model, while hurting sales of Toyota, Daimler and others.

In 2018, Norway's fully electric car sales rose to a record 31.2 per cent market share from 20.8 per cent in 2017, far ahead of any other nation, and buyers had to wait as producers struggled to keep up with demand.

The surge of electrics to a 58.4 per cent market share in March came as Tesla ramped up delivery of its mid-sized Model 3, which retails from 442,000 crowns (S$69,660), while Audi began deliveries of its 652,000-crowns e-tron sports utility vehicle.

REUTERS