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

Almost 60% 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 vehicle sales by 2025.

Exempting battery engines from taxes imposed on diesel and petrol cars has upended Norway's car 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% market share from 20.8% in 2017, far ahead of any other nation. Buyers had to wait as producers struggled to keep up with demand.

The surge of electrics to a 58.4% market share in March came as Tesla ramped up delivery of its mid-sized Model 3, which retails from 442,000 kroner (roughly R730,000), while Audi began deliveries of its 652,000-kroner (roughly R1,08m) e-tron sports utility vehicle.