Plug-in electric vehicles in Norway

The fleet of plug-in electric vehicles in Norway is the largest per capita in the world, with Oslo recognized as the EV capital of the world. In March 2014, Norway became the first country where over one in every 100 passenger cars on the roads is a plug-in electric, and the segment's market penetration rose to 2% in March 2015. Norway ended 2014 as the top selling European country in the light-duty all-electric market segment, and the country accounted for a third of all European all-electric car sales. Norway's fleet of electric cars is one of the cleanest in the world because almost 100% of the electricity generated in the country comes from hydropower.As of March 2015, a total of 52,865 plug-in electric vehicles were registered in Norway, consisting of 49,296 all-electric passenger and light-duty vehicles, and 3,569 plug-in hybrids. The milestone of 50,000 pure electric vehicles on Norwegian roads was reached by late April 2015. The Norwegian plug-in electric vehicle market share of new car sales is the highest in the world. The country's EV market share rose from 1.6% in 2011, to 3.1% in 2012. The segment sales reached 5.6% of new car sales in 2013, and climbed to 12.5% in 2014. Combined sales of new all-electric cars and vans, plug-in hybrids and used imports from neighboring countries together captured a 13.84% market share of total passenger car registrations in 2014, up from 6.17 in 2013. During the first quarter of 2015 the all-electric market share rose to 20.4%, while the plug-in hybrid segment reached 2.5%, for a combined PEV market share of almost 23% of all passenger cars sold during this period.Also, Norway was the first country in the world to have electric cars topping the new car sales monthly ranking. From September 2013 to March 2014, five times an electric car has ranked as the top selling new car in the country, three times the Tesla Model S and twice the Nissan Leaf. In March 2014 the Tesla Model S also broke the 28-year-old record for monthly sales of a single model regardless of its power source, with 1,493 units sold, surpassing the Ford Sierra, which sold 1,454 units in May 1986. Norway is the largest European market for both the Nissan Leaf and the Tesla Model S. In March 2015 three all-electric cars ranked as the country's top 3 selling new cars, the Tesla Model S, followed by the Volkswagen e-Golf, and the Nissan Leaf.Among the existing government incentives, all-electric cars are exempt in Norway from all non-recurring vehicle fees, including purchase taxes, which are extremely high for ordinary cars, and 25% VAT on purchase, together making electric car purchase price competitive with conventional cars. Sales of plug-in hybrids have had a much smaller market penetration than pure electric car sales because they were not eligible for the same tax exemptions and other incentives enacted for electric cars. However, the government approved a tax reduction for plug-in hybrids in effect starting in July 1, 2013, which was expected to improve PHEV sales.As a result of the successful policies implemented to promote EV adoption, the number of electric vehicles on the Norwegian roads increased rapidly, resulting in several unintended consequences and raising several complaints and criticism. Complaints regarding the incentives include: high public subsidies as compared to the value of the reduced carbon footprint of electric vehicles; the possibility of traffic congestion in some of Oslo's bus lanes due to the increasing number of electric cars; the loss of revenue for some ferry operators due to the large number of electric cars exempted from payment; and the shortage of parking spaces for owners of conventional cars due to preference to electric cars (although this was actually the intended policy).