About 86.8% of the new vehicles sold in Norway in March 2022 were EVs or electric vehicles. This equated to approximately 16,811 out of the total 19,366 vehicles sold. Only a small percentage of the new registrations were for petrol and diesel vehicles. These figures registered an increase of around 19.3% from the March 2021 sales.

Insiders expected yearend sales to surpass the 90% point, which means that the country may be on track to achieving its 2025 target.

It is also important to note that many new vehicles sold in the first few months of 2022 were Teslas, specifically the Model Y. If interpreted in numbers, the Teslas represented about 44.3% of the total vehicle sales in March last year.

Norway drivers have been using electric vehicles for years, so they’re not new to the idea anymore. It’s also the reason second-hand vehicle sales in the country have been on the upswing for years.

Electric van sales are also on the rise, with an 87% increase from last year’s figures. Of the 5,504 vans, 2,063 were electric vans.

World leaders

Norway is considered a world leader when it comes to electric vehicle adoption. Its per-capita fleet is the largest worldwide.

In 2022, EVs made their presence felt as they represented around 25% of the vehicles that were on the road. This is because of the 25% VAT policy applied on internal combustion-powered vehicles, as well as several benefits given to electric vehicle owners, specifically the exemptions (toll fees, parking fees, and road tax). Although these were eventually phased out because of endless controversies, they’ve already done their purpose. The first half of 2022 proved this as EVs dominated the list of top 10 bestselling vehicles in Norway.

In the same period, plug-in petrol hybrid vehicle sales went down by a significant mark – 70.2%.

Why electric is better

Unlike petrol and diesel-powered vehicles, EVs do not use conventional fuels that are toxic and flammable. Additionally, electric vehicles also have lesser air pollutants, including greenhouse gases. Drivers do not have to worry about tailpipe emissions such as carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrogen oxide (NOx).

Electric vehicles make it possible for countries to have safer and cleaner streets. One EV can already make a significant difference – around 1.5 million grams of carbon dioxide emissions will be eliminated.

EVs are also in the middle of the UK’s zero emissions goal, especially since road transport is the biggest air pollution contributor in the country. Authorities and the government are doing everything they can to encourage drivers to switch to electric vehicles before the year 2050.

Nitrogen oxide has been in the news for years because of the Dieselgate diesel emissions scandal.

What the scandal was/is about

The diesel emissions scandal started in September 2015 with the Volkswagen Group. Authorities in the United States accused the carmaker of putting defeat devices in their VW and Audi diesel vehicles. The devices are used to sense when a vehicle is in testing so that they could manipulate emissions. If emissions are kept within the legal limits, regulators are misled into approving the vehicle as emissions-compliant and hence, safe for selling.

When driven on real-world roads, however, such a vehicle will revert to emitting unlawfully high levels of toxic gases that go over the EU and World Health Organization’s limits. This means the vehicles are pollutants.

Authorities asked VW to recall all the affected vehicles in the US. To this day, the carmaker still spends a significant amount on payoffs, including fines and compensation.

However, Volkswagen was not the only carmaker that used defeat devices, as many others have also been implicated in the Dieselgate scandal.

Authorities have been urging affected drivers to bring their carmaker to court via a diesel claim.

Why a diesel claim is needed

Drivers and the people around them are exposed to dangerous emissions, particularly nitrogen oxides. This is the reason they should not hesitate to file a diesel claim against their carmakers. NOx has devastating impacts that can change or destroy lives.

NOx is a gas that contains nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and nitric oxide (NO). It produces acid rain, smog, and ground-level ozone. This is just the tip of the iceberg because nitrogen oxide has multiple impacts on human health – and they vary from minor illnesses to more serious and life-changing conditions.

Asthma, nausea, vomiting, and pulmonary oedema are common impacts. More serious complications include chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (or COPD), cancer, laryngospasm and asphyxiation, and cardiovascular disease. In recent years, cases of premature deaths have been increasing globally and air pollution has been identified as the primary cause.

These are life-altering impacts and should not be taken for granted. A diesel claim is the most ideal legal action to consider against carmakers. A successful one will give affected drivers the compensation they deserve after their carmakers lied to them and put them in harm’s way.

My diesel claim: is it for me?

To find out if you are eligible to file for a diesel claim, you should visit Emissions.co.uk to get all the information you need. Not all vehicles are affected by the scandal, so this should be your first step in the claims process. Once done, you can start working with an emissions expert who can help move your case in the right direction.