Sales of internal combustion engine cars hit a new low in Norway in January, with the Scandinavian country reporting that just seven new petrol cars were registered last month.

That’s according to data from the Norwegian Road Traffic Information Council (OFV) which shows a total of seven petrol, 98 diesel and 29 hybrid cars were registered in January.

In stark contrast, 2084 new electric vehicles were registered last month, just under 94 per cent of the new car market.

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However, sales of new cars were significantly down compared with December when 35,000 new cars were registered in a market that usually accounts for between 10,000 to 15,000 new car sales per month.

According to the OFV, the sharp decline in January can be attributed to new sales tax that came into effect on January 1.

“Tax changes just before the turn of the year create artificial sales peaks and sharp declines, resulting in an unnecessary stop-and-go market,” read a statement from the OFV. “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. We expect registrations to pick up again as the market stabilises.”

Norway has long been a pioneer of battery electric vehicle uptake. In 2025, BEVs accounted for 95.9 per cent of the new car market while data from the OFV shows that BEVs accounted for 22 per cent of Norwegian used car sales last year.

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BEV uptake grew across Europe in 2025, now accounting for 17.4 per cent of the new car market according to data compiled by the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association. Sales of hybrid vehicles accounted for 34.5 per cent of the market while traditional petrol and diesel vehicles represented 35.5 per cent, a sharp drop of almost 10 per cent compared with 2024.

In Australia, BEVs represented 8.3 per cent of all new car sales in 2025.