New vehicle registrations in Norway Plummet in January
Across all powertrains, the Norwegian Road Traffic Information Council (OFV) registered only 2,218 new passenger cars in January, marking a 76.7 per cent decline compared to the same month last year. In November and December 2025, record figures were still being set, with over 35,000 new cars registered in December alone, whereas the Norwegian market typically ranges between 10,000 and 15,000 vehicles per month.This development, characterised by record highs at the end of the year followed by a sharp decline, has a straightforward explanation: new VAT regulations came into force at the start of the year. As a result, many dealers and customers likely rushed to register vehicles before the new tax rates took effect in the previous year, leading to a surge in advance purchases. This effect, combined with the general market trend in Norway, has also resulted in battery-electric vehicles surpassing diesel cars in the national fleet.“Tax changes just before the turn of the year create artificial sales peaks and sharp declines, resulting in an unnecessary stop-and-go market. Therefore, the January figures are not a sign that demand has stalled, but rather a result of the extraordinary final spurt before the New Year,” states the OFV announcement. OFV Director Geir Inge Stokke added: “We expect registrations to pick up again as the market stabilises.”Battery-electric vehicles, which dominate the Norwegian market, accounted for 2,084 new registrations in January, representing a 94 per cent share. In January 2025, this figure stood at 95.8 per cent. Thus, even with the heavily distorted market, battery-electric vehicles remain far ahead of any other powertrain. In second place for January were diesel cars, with 98 new registrations and a 4.4 per cent market share. Petrol-only vehicles and all hybrids each accounted for less than one per cent of the market. According to the OFV, the seven new petrol-only registrations recorded were the lowest figure ever reported.The most registered battery-electric vehicle in January 2026 was the VW ID.3. With 299 new registrations, the ID.3, unsurprisingly given the market conditions, achieved an unusually low figure for the top-selling model. The Toyota bZ4X, in second place, still managed a three-digit total with 184 registrations, while the new Toyota Urban Cruiser, with 98 units, did not. Following these were the Skoda Elroq (78), Changan Deepal S05 (75), VW ID.4 (69), and Tesla Model Y (62). Somewhat surprisingly, the ageing Mercedes eVito also made it into the top ten with 62 registrations, followed by two small cars: the Nissan Micra (58) and Hyundai Inster (57).ofv.no (announcement), ofv.no (statistics), ofv.no (models, all three in Norwegian)
