More than half of new cars in Norway are electric

Electric cars for the first time accounted for more than half of new cars sold in Norway in March. Almost 60 percent of all new cars sold in Norway in March were fully electric. A global record as the country seeks to end fossil-fueled vehicles sales by 2025, part of an attempt by Western Europe's biggest producer of oil and gas to transform to a greener economy. Buyers of electric cars emphasized both economic and environmental aspects of the vehicles. In 2018, Norway's fully electric car sales rose to a record 31.2 percent market share from 20.8 percent in 2017, far ahead of any other nation. Electric cars have been popular in the Nordic country for years, but the March numbers indicated a sharp increase compared to the previous month, when the share of electric cars was about 40 percent. While the numbers will vary from month to month, half of all cars sold in 2019 in Norway is expected to be fully electric. Gas powered cars had a market share of only 22.7 percent in March, the lowest on record. Nissan's Leaf electric car was the top-selling car in Norway last year, while in March, the Tesla Model 3 was the biggest seller.