Norway sets record for national electric car sales in 2018

Jan. 2 (UPI) -- Nearly one-third of all new vehicles sold in Norway in 2018 were electric, breaking a world record for such sales, the country's independent road federation said Wednesday.

About 31 percent of all vehicles sold in Norway were electric cars, up from about 21 percent in 2017 and nearly 6 percent in 2013, euronews reported.

Norway's climate and environment minister, Ola Elvestuen, has pushed for only zero-emission cars to be sold in the country by 2025. The government offers subsidies to those who purchase electric cars.

"It should always be cheaper to have a zero-emissions car than a regular car," Elvestuen said.

Three of the five most popular vehicles sold in Norway in 2018 were electric cars, Bloomberg reported. Nissan's Leaf was the most popular, followed by BMW's i3 and Tesla's Model X.

Oyvind Solberg Thorsen, the director of the Norwegian Road Federation, said "alternative-fuel cars consolidated their strong position in the market" and he expects even more battery-powered vehicles going forward.

"As more models reach the market this year, we should see an even larger share of zero-emission vehicles in the sales numbers," he said.