EVs make up 28% of all Norwegian new car sales
Recent data from Clean Technica has shown that six out of the 10 best-selling cars in Norway are now electric, and 28% of new vehicles sold in the country in July were electric.

Update: There were discrepancies in data sources and we corrected the article to indicate a different EV market share (for July & for the year through July).

Originally published on EV Obsession.

Estimates for electric vehicle sales in Norway during the month of July 2016 were recently released by our friend over at the EV Sales blog, Jose Pontes.

Overall, the new sales figure estimates show pretty good growth — with 2,998 electric vehicles sold in total, making for a ~17% year-on-year growth rate. “Electric vehicles” in this case refers to any plug-in cars — all-electric cars (EVs) as well as plug-in hybrid cars (PHEVs). (These numbers do not include electric bikes.)

That said, EV sales are actually down somewhat (-38%), while PHEV sales are up notably (+140%). So, while overall growth is strong, it appears that some potential buyers are now holding out on the purchase of an EV — presumably owing to the improved offerings that will appear on the market later this year (longer-range Nissan LEAF & BMW i3) and into 2017 (Chevy Bolt & Tesla Model 3).

The overall plug-in car market made up 27% of new car registrations in Norway in July, and 28% for the year through July.

→ Related: Norway EV & PHEV Driver Findings, Galore!

As far as individual model sales, the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV is still selling well despite the recent Mitsubishi fuel-economy scandal — with 504 units registered during the month.

Following fairly closely behind was the Volkswagen Golf GTE, with 412 units registered during the month in Norway. Then, in 3rd, was the Volkswagen Passat GTE (294 units), but you can see how close the models are from there on: In 4th was the Volkswagen e-Golf with 279 units sold; and in 5th the Nissan LEAF with 237.

Volkswagen is, of course, also still dealing with the aftermath of its own diesel emissions cheating scandal. Interesting that the top four spots are held by companies facing “PR” trouble. I guess that the Norwegians don’t mind the deceptions?

Notably, July 2016 was the first time that the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV managed to nab the top spot in the mixed rankings (including petrol and diesel vehicles) — displacing the Volkswagen Golf GTE. So, perhaps some Norwegians are taking note of the Volkswagen scandal?

Also notable is that the Tesla Model S had its worst month in more than 1½ years. It’s worst in 20 months, to be exact, with only 43 units registered, but it’s hard to know if that relates to Tesla production, Tesla deliveries, or demand. It’ll be interesting to see what Model X registrations look like later this year once deliveries pick up — that should tell us a lot about Tesla’s immediate future in the country. Of course, the Model 3 launch there in ~2 years will tell us far, far more….

Photos by Kyle Field | CleanTechnica (CC BY-SA 4.0), via CleanTechnica.pics; Zachary Shahan | EV Obsession | CleanTechnica (CC BY-SA 4.0), via CleanTechnica.pics; and Volkswagen

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