Electric, hybrid, diesel or petrol?

In December 2011, 80% of cars sold had diesel engines. Electric cars accounted for 2% of new car sales, and hybrids had only 1.3% market share. The rest were petrol cars. You chose diesel, or at a pinch, petrol.

Today the situation has radically changed. Changes in car taxes have made high CO2-emitting cars more expensive, and electric cars enjoy great traffic benefits and are exempt from most taxes. In addition, the range of electric and hybrid cars has increased dramatically, and there are now many exciting and practical cars to choose from.

Last month, 15.5% of new cars had electric motors, an increase of 27.9% since May 2014. However, it's hybrids that have had the best development recently. They have now achieved 14% market share, an increase of 73% compared to the same period last year.

More environmentally friendly fleet

Emissions per new car sold in Norway have dropped sharply in recent years. Traditionally, the reason has been that petrol and diesel cars have become more environmentally friendly, and that car taxes have been restructured to tax cars with higher CO2 emissions more heavily. Recently, this development has stalled. Petrol and diesel cars have had only modest emission reductions in the past year. Now it's the increase in hybrid and electric car sales that is driving emissions down.