Electric Cars Outsell Fossil-Fueled Units for First Time in Norway

In a historic first, electric cars outsold those equipped with internal combustion engines, and it happened in the Northern European country of Norway.

Electric vehicles (EV) accounted for 58.4 percent of the country’s total car sales in March, led by Tesla's mass market Model 3, which took nearly 30 percent of the pie, according to the Opplysningsrådet for Veitrafikken, or in English, the Norwegian Information Council for Road Traffic.

The figures reflect Norway's efforts to do away with fossil-fuel vehicles, and highlights the success of the incentives provided by the local government to entice car buyers to choose EVs, such as waiving import duties as well as taxes on registration and sales. EVs are also exempted from road tolls and are allowed to use bus lanes in busy road sections.

"Norway shows the whole world that the electric car can replace cars powered by gasoline and diesel and be an important contribution in the fight to reduce C02 emissions," said Christina Bu, the road traffic council's general secretary.

The council revealed that 10,732 cars of the 18,375 new vehicles sold in March were rated with zero emissions. The number is more or less double that of the same period last year.

Tesla sold 5,300 Model 3 sedans for the month, a record for single-car model sales in one month. No other carmaker managed more than 10 percent of sales.