The transitioning to electric vehicles (EV) is a global movement, with car manufacturers shifting production to battery power in favour of internal combustion engines (ICE).
However, the speed and scale of the switch differs vastly country to country. And it’s Norway that leads the way in EV adoption with a clear route ahead to an all-electric nation.
In 2024, electric vehicles accounted for 88.9% of new cars sold – up from 82% in 2023, according to the Norwegian Road Federation.
And in some months of the year, that figure hit 98% of new cars with diesel and petrol sales all but evaporating. That places Norway within touching distance of its 2025 goal (set in 2017) to have 100% of new cars powered by electric – the first of any country in the world.
Electric vehicles have also climbed above petrol when it comes to the on-road fleet. Just over a quarter (28.9%) of all cars on Norwegian roads are now electric compared to 23% petrol, 36% diesel and 12% hybrid. By 2032, it’s expected EVs will overtake diesels and hold complete market share.
So, in a nation that’s historically one of the coldest (where some nay-sayers would say EVs don’t work), what has Norway done to lead the world in EV adoption? Let’s take a look…
How Norway built the world’s most successful EV market
There are a number of reasons why Norway has managed to achieve its position as market leader in EV adoption, from socio-economic factors to government policies.
Let’s start with the country itself. Norway is one of the richest countries in the world and, perhaps ironically for a country leading the green EV transition, that’s thanks to its significant oil and gas reserves.
This has allowed Norway to grow a sovereign wealth fund of more than £1.3 trillion, which means it can accelerate investments in big infrastructure projects (like EV charging) and offer big financial incentives without worrying too much about lost revenue.
With 88% of its energy coming from hydroelectricity, Norway also has the second most electrified energy system in the world putting it in the perfect economic position to switch.
That’s just part of the story though, with a series of consumer incentives and mandatory policy working hand in hand for years.
Pro-EV policies first date back to the 1990s with a strategy that has focused on helping consumers make the right decision rather than an outright ban on petrol and diesels.
For example, Norwegians could (and still can) buy an internal combustion engine vehicle but were faced with higher taxes, while VAT and import duties were scrapped for EVs. Electric cars also benefited from other perks, such as free parking, road toll discounts and access to bus lanes.
A big part of this ability to tax petrol and diesels without any issues is the fact Norway does not produce cars. With no powerful automotive lobby that employs thousands (compared to say the UK, Germany or US), Norway has been able to act without having to balance the trade and employment implications.
Perhaps the most crucial factor, though, is not one singular element but rather the consistency of these policies, which have been followed through by multiple governments regardless of political leaning, creating a slow and steady transition path over the last 10-15 years.
Norway has now started to remove some of these incentives, but the market is already so mature, it is doing little to harm the shift with consumers already making the choice for the right reasons.
Growth of EVs in Norway vs the UK
The UK started its own EV journey back in the early 2000s with the Plug-in Car Grant (PiCG) introduced in 2011 in a bid to kickstart EV purchases.
And yet, in 2024 only 20% of new cars sold were electric. Sure, that’s better than the US at 8.9% but miles behind Norway and behind the likes of Denmark, Sweden, Netherlands and China.
So, why might this be? Well, it’s worth considering the UK doesn’t benefit from the same economic might of Norway and for the last decade, the political and economic outlook of the UK has been unpredictable.
That consistency that has been so crucial to Norway has simply not been possible in the UK, highlighted by the date of the new petrol and diesel ban moving from 2030 to 2035 and back again.
The tax breaks that Norway could offer simply can’t be swallowed by a UK Treasury which faces a vast deficit and a host of other welfare priorities, while the UK car manufacturing industry is a loud voice at the policy table.
The UK’s trajectory has also been stunted by the withdrawal of the PiCG in 2022 when new EVs accounted for just 16%. Compare that to Norway, which held onto incentives until the market was more mature. But it’s not all bad news for the UK.
Norway EV charging network: Lessons for the UK
Another big part of the EV adoption equation is access to an EV charging network that is fit for purpose.
The average mileage of a Norwegian driver is actually very similar to the UK motorist, with around 8,000 miles driven a year and it has a similar landscape – small, dense urban areas combined with large swathes of remote rural countryside.
With Norway’s transition so advanced and ICE numbers dwindling, many petrol pumps have been converted to fast-charging stations, taking the total public network in Norway to around 27,000 public charging points.
By contrast, the UK (which has a land mass 25% smaller than Norway) has over 70,000 public charging points. Great, right? Sort of. The population of Norway is just 5.5 million, meaning Norway’s network has over 400 chargers per 100,000 people, while the UK sits at 89.
So, work to do. The good news is, the UK charging infrastructure is growing at an unprecedented scale to meet the growing demand. The number of public chargers has almost doubled in the past two years with almost one charger for every EV on the road. GRIDSERVE opened 400 new charging bays in 2024, completed nearly 2.5 million charging sessions on the GRIDSERVE Electric Highway with over 60GWh of energy delivered – enough to power over 250 million electric vehicles miles.
And the government made further commitments to EV growth in the 2024 Autumn budget. The lower vehicle excise duty (road tax) will be maintained for EVs along with company car tax relief, while £200 million has been allocated for 2025-26 to accelerate charging infrastructure rollout. Businesses looking to go electric can also benefit from the £120 million set aside for plug-in electric van grants.
Then, in early 2025, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced a new National Wealth Fund, which lists the UK’s public charging infrastructure as a priority sector as the government bids to hit its target of at least 300,000 public EV chargers by 2030.
What’s next for EVs in the UK?
While the UK might not rival Norway anytime soon, it’s on the right path. It’s currently Europe’s second biggest new electric car market and is rapidly closing the gap to Germany.
It’s a crucial moment on this path, though, as the Government consults on the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate – a policy that sets targets and laws for the percentage of EVs that manufacturers sell over the next 10 years in order to reach 100% by 2035.
Industry experts say that any changes or weakening of the ZEV mandate would destabilise investment into charging infrastructure projects, in turn impacting mass adoption of electric vehicles.
Instead, the EV industry in the UK would like to see additional incentives that support both EV adoption and the business case for EV charging installation, such as VAT reduction and inclusion of charging in the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) scheme.
Whatever the direction, if there’s one lesson to take from Norway’s success is that consistency is key.
