Norwegians are way ahead of the rest of Europe in switching from petrol to electric vehicles (EV) with the country notching up the highest per capita EV ownership in the world.

For every 1,000 Norwegians, there are now 55 EVs on the road. The Netherlands, which has more than a quarter of Europe’s charging points, trails in second place with just 8.4 EVs per 1,000 population. The U.K. is third with 3.2, followed by France with 3.1 and Germany with 2.4 EVs per 1,000 people.

Attractive tax breaks for electric vehicles and incentives such as exemption from road tolls have encouraged takeup in Norway. “Over its lifetime, you really save a lot of money with an electric car here,” says Christina Bu of the Norwegian Electric Vehicle Association.

E-cars are expected to take 55–60 per cent market share for new cars this year, and Norway looks set to meet its target of phasing out the sale of all new fossil fuel-based cars and light commercial vehicles by 2025.

Almost all of Norway’s domestic energy comes from hydropower, so switching to EVs is a much greener option than for countries whose electricity still comes mostly from fossil sources.