Powered by demand for its market-leading Enyaq iV, Skoda was the No. 2-selling brand in EV-friendly Norway for the first time since market research Dataforce started tracking sales in the country 18 years ago.
The Enyaq iV was Norway's No. 1-selling vehicle last month, topping the Volkswagen ID4 and Hyundai Ioniq 5 (see table, below). The SUV accounted for 83 percent of the Czech automaker's registrations in July.
VW last month was the market's best-selling brand -- passing Tesla to get there -- because of strong demand for its ID4 and ID5 EVs, which were among the fastest growing models in Norway in July, according to Dataforce.
"The ID4 and ID5 offset weak registrations for the ID3, Polo, Golf and Tiguan," Dataforce Senior Automotive Analyst Benjamin Kibies said.
Also worth noting was that MG rose to the top five ranking of brands (see table, below), their best result this year, helped by a 15 percent increase in sales for the ZS EV.
Another Chinese brand, BYD, just missed entering the market's top 10 in July, finishing 11th, which left it ahead of brands such as Kia, Peugeot and Citroen. BYD was led by the full-electric Tang midsize SUV, which debuted in Norway in August 2021.
EVs accounted of 71 percent of the 7,247 total sales in July in Norway, where government incentives make battery-powered vehicles the most economical choice for car buyers in the country.
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Norway, however, has had a steep decline in demand for plug-in hybrids since axing incentives for the powertrain. In July, the market share for plug-in hybrids fell to 12 percent from 21 percent (890 sales down from 2,166) compared with July 2021.
"Plug-in hybrid buyers brought forward their registrations to 2021," Kibies said.
The phaseout of internal combustion cars and plug-in hybrids is also affecting the sale channel split.
"Fleet managers heavily relied on plug-in hybrids, which is why the fleet channel had the biggest decline of the month at 44 percent," Kibies added.
Overall, Norway recorded its biggest decline of 2022 in monthly registrations in July, a 31 percent drop.
