Because like the news agency Reuters reports, four out of five cars sold last year were fully electric – hybrids are not even counted. Specifically, the figure was 79 percent, and the US carmaker Tesla was able to record the most new registrations.
Elon Musk’s company achieved a market share of 12.2 percent in Norway, putting it ahead of Volkswagen, while the Wolfsburg-based company had 11.6 percent. The most popular model in Norway was the Tesla Model Y, followed by the Volkswagen Group with two cars, namely the VW ID.4 in second place and Škoda Enyaq in third place.
Electro model country thanks to VAT exemption
Of course, Norway is not the world’s largest market for electric cars, and that’s not even possible with a population of around 5.5 million – this “title” goes to China. However, the country in Scandinavia has the largest percentage of electrically powered vehicles. The reason for this development is the generous subsidies that the state has given out. Specifically, this meant an exemption from VAT (standard: 25 percent). However, the high number of new registrations in 2022 could or should also be related to the fact that Norway adjusted this previously flat-rate VAT exemption as of January 1, 2023 and now (reduced) taxes expensive vehicles in particular.
Although the buyers were pleased with these tax breaks, they have torn a deep hole in the coffers of the state, because the Norwegian Ministry of Finance lost around 39.4 billion crowns in 2022 alone, which is the equivalent of around 3.7 billion euros.
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