It has been a great year for electric vehicles registrations around Europe. However, the month of October saw Norway obtaining extraordinary results as Plug-in EVs accounted for eight in 10 vehicle sales in the country.
One of the main reasons behind this sales push is due to the popularity of the new Volkswagen electric car, the ID.3. The German model was the absolute bestseller of the month as 2,745 units were sold in the country during October.
The popularity of the ID.3 doesn’t come as a surprise as the car is affordable and has a great range. The VW product has the potential to achieve the same sales numbers once boasted by the Beetle and the Golf.
The EV uses a 58-kWh battery and a 204 PS electric motor driving the rear wheels. It has a range of 261 miles (WLTP) and can rapid charge at 100 kW, which can add an impressive 180 miles in as little as 30 minutes. Also, the Volkswagen is an extremely safe car, having scored five stars on the Euro NCAP rating.
The German automaker says it has a plan to sell 90% electric vehicles in the Norwegian market in 2021. The ID.3 was five times more popular than the next bestselling EV, MG’s ZS EV which sold 586 units.
The MG ZS is another great and affordable EV that has a 163-mile range, 141bhp of power with a top speed of 87mph, and comes with a seven-year warranty. The prices of the SUV start from just £21,995 with the top-of-the-range ZS Exclusive model costing just £23,495.
The incredible outcome achieved by the country is the result of years of EV-focused incentives and policies. Norway is well on its way to reaching a goal of 100% new vehicle sales to be electric by 2025.
Overall, in October, 61% of all new vehicle sales were battery electric (BEV), and 18% were plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs). Following the VW ID.3 and MG ZS EV are the Nissan Leaf, Hyundai Kona Electric and Audi e-Tron, which still sits as the best seller for 2020.
Over the year to date, however, the Audi e-Tron has been the best seller so far with 8,203 units, while Tesla’s Model 3 languishes in sixth place on just 3,271 units – an unusual result given its sales success in other markets.