Norway sees electric cars outnumber petrol models

Norway now has more electric cars than petrol vehicles, with 754,303 all-electric cars compared to 753,905 petrol-driven ones, the BBC reports. The country is a global leader in EV adoption and next year it wants to become the first country to end the sale of new petrol and diesel cars.

• Norway’s electric vehicle boom is being fueled by tax breaks and incentives, including sales tax exemptions for electric cars. These incentives are funded largely from the revenue generated by Norway’s oil and gas industry.
• Early EV promotion efforts in Norway were supported by environmental activists and even A-ha, the chart-topping pop group A-ha. Despite the rise of electric vehicles, diesel cars still dominate, with just under a million on the roads — though their sales are declining rapidly.
• Today, nine out of ten new cars sold in Norway are electric, reflecting the strong support for EVs. Incentives like free parking, exemption from city tolls, along with  abundant charging stations (including 2,000 in Oslo alone) have made electric car ownership highly appealing.