This country is now the world’s first to have more EVs than gas-powered cars

Norway is the first country in the world with more electric vehicles than gas powered cars on the road, according to vehicle registration data the Nor...

Norway is the first country in the world with more electric vehicles than gas-powered cars on the road, according to vehicle registration data the Norwegian road federation, known as OFV, released on Tuesday.

Of the 2.8 million passenger cars registered in the country, 26.3 percent are fully electric, just edging out the share of gas vehicles. Diesel remains the most common vehicle type, making up more than a third of Norwegian vehicle registrations.

"The electrification of the passenger car fleet is keeping a high pace, and Norway is moving rapidly towards becoming the first country in the world with a passenger car fleet dominated by electric cars,” OFV director Oyvind Solberg Thorsen saidin a statement. He predicted EVs will outnumber diesel cars by 2026.

Norway leads the world in EV adoption, thanks to government incentives that include exempting electric cars and trucks from sales and emissions taxes, lowering tolls and parking fees for these vehicles and allowing EV drivers to use bus lanes. The country is also one of the world’s wealthiest, which helps defray the higher upfront cost of EVs. Electric cars now make up more than 90 percent of new-vehicle sales.

The Norwegian government has said it hopes itstax incentives - which are funded in large part by the money the country makes selling oil and gas to other countries - will allow Norway to end all new gas and diesel vehicle sales by next year.