2013 (Q1) Norway: Best-Selling Electric Vehicles

The Nissan Leaf remains Norway’s favorite electric car taking three-quarters of the total market for super-clean vehicles in the first quarter of 2013.

Nissan Leaf at the 2013 Geneva Auto Show

The Norwegian love affair with electric cars continued in 2013 with a 50% increase in the number of super-clean zero-emission vehicles sold during the first quarter of the year. The Nissan Leaf increased its domination of the electric car market in Norway with a market share of 74%. The Ford Connect remained the most popular electric commercial vehicle but is receiving competition from the new Renault Kangoo ZE.

Best-Selling Electric Vehicles in Norway in 2013 (Q1)

New electric vehicle registrations during the first quarter of 2013 in Norway according to car sales statistics released by Norsk Elbilforening / OFV were:

  Make Q1 /2013 Q1 /2012 % Change % Market Share 2012 Full Year 2011 Full Year
1 Nissan Leaf 1,049 612 71 74 2,487 381
2 Mitsubishi i-MiEV 132 168 -21 9 672 1,050
3 Ford Connect Electr 86 5 1,620 6 31 41
4 Citroen C-Zero 44 54 -19 3 558 210
5 Peugeot iOn 40 57 -30 3 447 217
6 Renault Kangoo ZE 40 0 0 3 0 0
7 Think City 5 7 -29 0 22 133
8 Mia 4 0 0 0 13 0
9 Smart ED 3 0 0 0 0 0
9 Tesla Roadster 3 7 -57 0 38 34
11 Buddy 2 4 -50 0 24 125
12 Tazzari 1 5 -80 0 10 34
Others 3 8 -63 0 32 17
Total Electric Sales 1,412 927    52 4,358 2,242

Top-Selling Electric Vehicles in Norway in 2013 (Q1)

The Nissan Leaf easily remained the most popular electric vehicle in Norway by increasing its total domination of the zero-emissions car market. Nearly three quarters of all new electric vehicles registrations in Norway during the first three months of 2013 were Nissan Leafs.

Although sales of the technologically similar Mitsubishi iMiEV, Citroen C-Zero and Peugeot iOn were sharply down, the cars are sill selling in significant numbers in Norway. In neighboring Sweden these cars became almost impossible to sell. Production of the French marques has ended while the Mitsubishi is clearly falling behind the price-performance offered by the Leaf.

Two electric delivery vehicles have also sold well in Norway: the Ford Connect Electric, which is now receiving competition from the Renault Kangoo ZE.

Norway’s electric car market is expected to continue to grow strongly during 2013. Previously, new vehicles with better battery performance have been a strong incentive to buy electric and several new models are expected on the Norwegian market later in 2013. The Nissan Leaf is due for a small update while the Renault Zoe may finally make it to Norway by the end of 2013. The Tesla Model S is also expected to sell in surprisingly high numbers in Norway from later this year.

About the author:

Henk Bekker

Henk Bekker is a freelance writer with over 20 years of experience in online writing. His best-selling cars website has been reporting car sales statistics since 2008 with classic car auction prices focusing on the most expensive automobiles sold at public auctions in the past decade. He also owns the travel websites European-Traveler.com and Lake Geneva Switzerland. Henk holds an MBA from Edinburgh Business School and an MSc in Finance from the University of London.