OSLO (Reuters) -- The Nissan Leaf was Norway's top-selling car in October for the first time, extending a streak of success for electric vehicles after Tesla Motor's Model S led September sales, official statistics showed.
Norway's 5 million people have been among the most enthusiastic buyers of electric cars because of high subsidies, free parking and recharging points, avoidance of road tolls and use of bus lanes to avoid queues in commuting.
Last month, 716 Leafs were sold, accounting for about 6 percent of the Norway's total volume. The Toyota Auris was second with 679 sales and the Volkswagen Golf rounded out the top 3 with 646 sales.
So far this year, the Leaf is Norway's No. 4-selling car with a 3.2 percent share.
"It's the first month that the Leaf is on top," Paal Bruhn of the car retailers' association, which compiles the statistics, told Reuters on Friday. "And it's the first time with electric cars on top two months in a row."
Tesla overtook all others in September with 616 sales of its Model S luxury car, thanks to a shipment that met a backlog of orders. Tesla sold 98 cars in October.
Overall in October, 925 electric cars were sold in Norway, or 7 percent of all sales against 3 percent in the same month last year, the association said.
In many nations, electric cars make up only a fraction of a percent of all sales.
One study by a Statistics Norway expert estimated that tax breaks on importing electric cars, free parking and other benefits could be worth $8,100 (about 6,000 euros) a year per car.
