OSLO: Norway's best-selling car record for a single year previously belonged to Volkswagen, which sold nearly 16,700 units of its famous Beetle in 1969.

Shifting 16,748 units since the start of the year, the Tesla Model Y beat a record that previously stood for more than 50 years.

In addition, the Tesla SUV was also the best-selling new car of any engine type in Europe in November 2022.

In the year-end ranking of top-selling new vehicles in Norway, the Model Y is ahead of two other electric SUVs, the Volkswagen ID.4 and the Skoda Enyaq iV.

In fact, Norway is the first country in the world where almost all new cars sold are now electric.

Norway has long been the country best prepared to make the transition to all-electric power with minimal delay, and for several reasons.

The country has long favoured the development of electric cars, notably by setting up a tax incentive scheme very early on, encouraging people to buy "clean" cars, and by developing significant charging infrastructure for many years.

In this respect, many other European countries appear to be lagging behind.

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