Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on January 2, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 27, 2026
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Chinese electric vehicles have captured 10% of Norway's car market, benefiting from the absence of import tariffs, unlike in the EU and US.
By Nerijus Adomaitis
OSLO (Reuters) - Chinese electric cars have surged to account for almost 10% of new car sales in Norway in only five years, data from the country's road federation (OFV) showed on Thursday.
Wealthy Norway is far ahead of most countries in the switch to electric vehicles and unlike the European Union and the United States has not imposed import tariffs on Chinese EVs.
Brussels and Washington say Chinese EVs benefit from unfair subsidies, which Beijing denies, and Western automakers have warned they could be hit hard by cheap Chinese imports, although there have been doubts if buyers would adopt unfamiliar brands.
In Norway, the combined market share of Chinese manufacturers such as MG, part of SAIC Motor, BYD and XPeng increased to 8.8% last year, up from 5.1% in 2023 and 4.1% in 2021, according to Reuters calculations based on OFV data on the top 20 car brands sold.
The first Chinese EV to arrive in Norway, from MG, was shipped only five years ago, in January 2020.
"The Norwegian car market is probably one of the toughest in the world," said Christina Bu, head of the Norwegian EV association. "There's fierce competition."
Starting in November 2024, the EU increased import duties on Chinese EVs to up to 45.3%.
"We treat all countries alike," said Norway's deputy transport minister Cecilie Knibe Kroglund. The Nordic country is not part of the EU.
The EU's move followed a decision by the United States to increase import tariffs on Chinese EVs to 100% of their value in 2024 from 25% before.
China became the world's top car exporter in 2023, selling some 1.2 million EVs worldwide.
($1 = 11.3841 Norwegian crowns)
(Reporting by Nerijus Adomaitis in Oslo. Editing by Gwladys Fouche and Mark Potter)
The article discusses the rise of Chinese electric vehicles in Norway's car market, capturing a 10% share.
Norway does not impose tariffs on Chinese EVs, unlike the EU and US, which have increased tariffs.
Chinese brands such as MG, BYD, and XPeng are highlighted for their market growth in Norway.
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