Most of Norway’s new vehicles were hybrids or plug-ins in March

Norway continues to astound green-car advocates with its citizens’ adoption of electrified vehicles. Last month was a particular whopper, with hybrids, and plug-in hybrid vehicles accounted for more than 60 percent of new-car registrations, Green Car Reports says, citing statistics released by Norwegian publication Dinside Motor. The Nissan Leaf EV was the country’s top EV last month, and number three overall: its 676 vehicles sold trailed only the gas-powered Volkswagen Golf and Mitsubishi Outlander models. The Tesla Model S checked in at number five, while the Renault Zoe was the ninth-best seller in the country.

Granted, the numbers aren’t massive.

Granted, the numbers aren’t massive: about 3,400 hybrids, about 2,600 all-electric cars, and about 2,000 plug-in hybrids were sold throughout the country in March. But still, that adds up to more than 60 percent of all the cars sold there last month. To put that in perspective, last year, we pegged US plug-in and hybrid sales at about 450,000 units, or about 2.6 percent of the approximately 17.5 million light-duty vehicles sold in the US in 2015.

The Norwegian government has certainly done its part to encourage demand by offering a host of incentives, and not just the type that appeal to those who make enough cash to benefit from huge tax write-offs. For Norway’s EV drivers, there is no car registration fee, free public parking, free public charging, free ferry trips, and no tolls on roads, bridges, or tunnels. In fact, Norway may have forfeited as much as $1.12 billion in vehicle taxes for the two years ended 2015 because of its EV exemptions.

Granted, many of these perks may have run their course. Norway’s government may rescind incentives such as the free tolls, free parking, and use of bus lanes. The tax exemptions for EVs, though, are expected to remain in place through at least the end of next year, though.