According to the Norwegian Electric Vehicle Association (NEVA), this Scandinavian country set a new record for electric vehicle (EV) sales in 2021, with 64.5% of all new cars sold fully electric.
The association says last year turned out to be the year “EV sales skyrocketed in Norway, where ground-breaking records have become a frequent occurrence”.
In December, EVs had a market share of 67%. However, September proved to be the record month for the year, with a 77.5% electric vehicle market share, meaning that three out of every four new vehicles sold were electric.
After 11 consecutive years in pole position, Volkswagen in 2021 lost its number one market position in Norway to US EV manufacturer Tesla.
The main reason for this is that the Tesla Model 3 was Norway’s best-selling car “by far” in 2021, says NEVA.
Next in line was the plug-in hybrid Toyota RAV4, followed by the Volkswagen ID.4 and the Tesla Model Y.
NEVA represents electric car owners in Norway.
The association says it promotes Norway as the best case scenario for EV policy to Europe and the rest of the world.
“Our main goal is to promote EVs that run fully, or partially, on renewable energy. We believe EVs are the best alternative for personal transport when it comes to the local environment, climate, energy efficiency and economy.”
In stark contrast to the Norwegian sales numbers, Naamsa | The Automotive Business Council reports that 650 hybrids, plug-in hybrids and battery EVs were sold in South Africa for the entire 12 months of 2021 – or 0.2% of all new car sales.
This is, however, up 127.3% on the 2020 number of 286 units.