Norway; 80% of all New Car Sales Electric, Thanks to Tesla

Electric car sales increased to almost 80% in Norway as more people opted to buy Tesla’s mid-sized electric models.

Norway has proved to be a global leader when it comes to switching to electric vehicles. The country plans to stop selling petrol and diesel fuel by 2025. According to the Norwegian Road Federation, 77.5% of all new cars in September were battery electric operated.

Tesla’s Model Y was made available to European countries in March 2019. Norway encouraged the sale of electric vehicles by allowing them to be exempt from tax. However, the tax exemption may be nullified if the new center-left government decides to implement tax on expensive models.

The upcoming government led by Jonas Gahr Stoere has vowed along with other parties to implement a new 25% VAT tax on vehicles exceeding 6000,000 Norwegian Crowns. This could mean that Tesla’s high-end models including S and X may see a decline in sales in the region. Other luxury cars such as Mercedes Benz and Audi sales may also be affected by the new tax.

The government has said tax exemption for electric cars was put in place to encourage the public to switch to eco-friendly electric cars. However, the tax is considered as a subsidy which will vary in accordance to prices of vehicles. Svein Hansen, a labour tax policy spokesperson said, “It is a subsidy. And the more expensive the car is, the bigger the subsidy. We have in the last couple of years received a lot of new model. There is plenty to choose for those who still want to buy a car while there is a VAT exemption.”

©Photo: autoblog