Hyundai No Longer Selling ICE Cars in Norway

Hyundai will stop selling any cars with internal combustion engines — including plug-in hybrids — in Norway starting 2023. The move makes Hyundai the first traditional automaker to exit ICE sales entirely in any market.

Norway's Extraordinary EV Lead

Norway has been leading global vehicle electrification for years, well ahead of other countries in EV market share. Virtually all vehicles in the country now have a plug, with ICE-only vehicles holding just a few percent of the market. The decline has been so drastic that despite Norway's goal to end gas vehicle sales by 2025, the country is already on track to meet that target several years early.

In 2022, 64.5% of cars sold in Norway were fully electric — up 10% from the prior year — with battery-electric market share expected to reach around 80% by end of year. PHEV market share has been declining significantly while non-plug vehicles have held relatively steady in the high single digits.

Hyundai Goes All-Electric

Hyundai had already stopped selling non-plug vehicles in Norway in 2020 (still offering PHEVs). Now, it's going one step further and exiting PHEVs entirely. Those hybrids represented 7% of Hyundai's Norway sales in 2022, while electric cars had already accounted for over 90% of its sales in recent years — making the transition a fairly natural one.

Hyundai Norway's Managing Director Thomas Rosvold explained that with the launch of the IONIQ 6, the time had come to sell only all-electric cars in the market. The IONIQ 5 and Kona Electric have ranked among the most popular cars in Norway, giving the company confidence in its fully electric future.

According to Hyundai, the IONIQ 5 was the fifth best-selling car in Norway in 2022, and Hyundai is the brand Norwegians most associate with electrification among legacy automakers.

Hyundai Ahead of Volvo and VW

Hyundai isn't alone in its direction, but it is out front. Volvo announced a similar move at the start of 2022, committing to only BEV and PHEV sales in Norway by 2023. VW said it would sell only BEVs (no PHEVs) in Norway starting 2024. Hyundai's commitment — full BEV-only with no PHEVs — is broader in scope and earlier in execution than both.

What makes Norway's story so instructive for the rest of the world is that the country set ambitious early goals and is meeting them ahead of schedule. California's 2035 gas car ban — often criticized as unambitious — would allow up to 20% plug-in hybrids. Norway's current 80%+ BEV market share already exceeds that bar, years before California's deadline. If other regions follow, those 2035 targets may also be met earlier than expected.

Originally published by Electrek. Author: Jameson Dow.