More than half of all cars sold in 2020 will be electric, according to car importers

The Car Importers’ National Association (Bilimportørenes Landsforening) estimates that Norwegians will buy 150,000 new cars in 2020. Up to 60 per cent of them will probably be electric.

“We are now in the midst of the biggest technology shift the car industry has undergone in many years. Norway is still far ahead of the rest of Europe when it comes to the sale of electric cars, but we see trends that are starting to pick up in other countries and markets on the continent and worldwide,” says Erik Andresen, director of the Car Importers’ Association in a press release.

They estimate that 150,000 new passenger cars will be sold during the year, about as many as in 2019. Of these, they expect between 55 and 60 per cent to be electric. If the prediction holds true, it will be the first time over half of all new cars sold are electric.

Lower sales of petrol cars
Car importers believe the reason why electric car sales will accelerate further during the year is because many new family-friendly models will be on the market during the year.

In addition, car importers estimate that between 10 and 15 per cent of the cars sold will be rechargeable hybrids, about the same as in 2019.

Sales of electric cars are at the expense of gasoline and diesel cars, where sales are expected to decline from around 30 per cent in 2019 to between 15 and 20 per cent in 2020.

Asking for better charging options
Andresen now says that the authorities need to up their game to make the opportunities for recharging along the road on a level comparable to gasoline and diesel.

“Electric cars have the advantage that they can start every day with a full “tank” if you have a charging option at home, but on the other hand it takes longer to charge than to refuel when you first have to stop. Therefore, we believe the number of charging points must quickly rise to a significantly higher level than today, and here the authorities also have a responsibility to organize,” Andresen believes.

© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today