How Tesla became Norway’s best-selling car company

Norway has had huge success with EV adoption – 82% of new cars sold in the country in 2023 are electric, according to the Norwegian Road Federation. This high adoption rate can be attributed to the generous subsidies the Scandinavian country offers to electric vehicle owners, as well as its investment in charging infrastructure.

of Tesla sales in the country may represent just a fraction of the 1.8 million vehicles the company delivered globally last year, but its importance to the EV maker goes beyond revenue. Tesla’s early foothold there made Norway a major testing ground for the company and a national model for the transition to electric vehicles. As a result, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has made a number of trips to the tiny Scandinavian country and has often praised its support for technological change.

Norwegians were the first European customers to take delivery of the Tesla Model S in 2013. In April 2014, Tesla broke Norway’s record for the most monthly sales of a single model, electric or gas, with its Model S. Today, the best-selling model is Tesla’s Model Y. Tesla accounted for about 20% of all vehicles sold in the country last year, according to the Norwegian Road Federation.

But with increasing competition from other electric car makers including Toyota, Skoda, Volkswagen and BYD, it remains to be seen whether Norwegians will continue to favor Tesla in the future.

CNBC traveled to Norway to meet with local people, government officials and experts to find out how Tesla became so successful in the Scandinavian country. Watch the video for the full story.