The cars that sold the best in April

The April figures provide light at the end of the tunnel, but Norway’s largest charging company is putting the brakes on charging. These cars sold best.

After a poor start to the year, 11,241 cars were registered for the first time in April. There are 25 per cent more new passenger cars than in the same month last year, figures from the Road Traffic Information Council (OFV) show.

Nevertheless, the first four months of the year, with a total of 33,493 new cars, are a full 11 per cent behind last year.

Far from the peak years

– At the pace of new car sales, we are aiming for around 110,000-115,000 new passenger cars this year. It is lower than last year’s 126,953 cars and far from the peak years, says director Øyvind Solberg Thorsen of the Road Traffic Information Council (OFV) in a press release.

The registration statistics show that Norwegians buy smaller and more affordable new cars, and that it is still SUVs with four-wheel drive that most people want.

– It is probably a bit early to report the market is healthy, but the situation looks brighter than a few months ago. Our member companies report higher activity and more optimism among retailers, although we still see signs of moderation.

That’s what Andreas Bibow Handeland says, who is head of communications at the National Association of Bilim Porters.

Worth to notice:

• VW is in with two cars on the top 3 list.
• The share of electric cars has stabilized at approx. 90 percent.
• The average CO₂ emissions for all new passenger cars registered in April was 12.8 g/km.
• With 44,519 changes of ownership, the used car market increased by 17.9 per cent compared to April 2023.

Turns on the fast charger brake

The decline in new car sales means fewer electric cars on the roads today than Norway’s largest charging company Recharge had envisioned just one year ago. Recharge has therefore chosen to reduce the development speed.

Today, there are approximately 90 electric cars per fast charger, while Recharge’s calculations show that in the long term there should be 125 cars per chargers to ensure profitability.

This is in line with the government’s charging strategy, which states that there should be between 10,000 and 14,000 fast and lightning chargers in Norway in 2030. With 8,000 chargers already today, this means that we are moving towards an over-establishment of charging stations.

This is explained by Stian Mathisen, who is head of group communication, framework conditions and sustainability at Recharge.

– We depend on making money, and we don’t do that when we build expensive charging stations that are not used enough.