Tesla pushes Norway's EV sales to new record

Norwegian electric car sales hit a record high last month, propelled by demand for Tesla Inc's mid-sized models in the influential Nordic market, new data showed on Friday.

Battery electric vehicles made up 77.5% of all new cars sold last month, the Norwegian Road Federation (OFV) said, up from 61.5% a year ago as the country seeks to become the first to end the sale of petrol and diesel engines by 2025.

Tesla Model Y, a compact sports utility vehicle, was the top selling vehicle in Norway in September with 19.8% of the car market followed by the company's Model 3 sedan with 12.3%. Skoda's Enyaq was a distant third at 4.4%.

First unveiled by California-based Tesla in March 2019, the Model Y was only recently made available to European customers, with thousands of Norwegians among the first on the continent to receive the car.

By exempting fully electric vehicles from taxes imposed on those relying on fossil fuels, oil-producing Norway has become a global leader in ending the use of combustion engines.

In 2020, electric cars grabbed a 54% share of the overall Norwegian market, outselling the combined volume of petrol, diesel and hybrid engines for the first time on a full-year basis.