New combustion-powered VW models will not be available in Norway from the start of 2024 as the carmaker switches to selling nothing but EVs in the local market.
VW models sold in Norway are imported by Møller Mobility Group and early this month, the importer revealed that it will stop taking orders for combustion-powered passenger cars in Norway in December. It is not yet clear if the move will include VW’s commercial vehicles but it doesn’t appear as though it will.
Those who have followed Norway’s emergence as an EV leader won’t be surprised by the news. Battery-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles accounted for 93% of all new passenger car sales in September, with BEVs making up the vast majority of sales. VW itself has sold 102,000 BEVs in Norway over the past 10 years and clearly sees no need to offer consumers any ICE models.
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Norway’s best-selling EV remains the Tesla Model Y with some 20,202 units sold this year. Trailing behind the Model Y is the VW ID.4 with 5,832 sales this year, placing it slightly ahead of another VW Group product, the Skoda Enyaq with 4,730 sales. Other popular BEVs offered by VW in Norway include the ID.3 with 2,788 sales this year, the new ID. Buzz Cargo with 2,624 sales, and the ID. Buzz Pro and ID.5 with sales of 1,372 and 1,228 units respectively.
The country’s VW importer has been preparing to switch to an EV-only line-up for quite some time. In fact, three years ago it suggested that it would be able to phase out all ICE models by 2023. Aiding in the growth of demand for EVs in Norway is the fact that the Norwegian government excludes them from taxes imposed on petrol and diesel-powered cars.
