The electric vehicle revolution has surged forward over the last decade, particularly in the last few years.
However, a crucial point to consider is that while EV sales are soaring, the actual decrease in petrol (gasoline and diesel) consumption and subsequent emissions reduction is a separate challenge. Even with 100% of new car sales being electric, older petrol-fueled vehicles remain on the roads, continuing to pollute.
Norway’s EV Leadership
Norway stands as the undisputed leader in EV market share, with over 90% of recent sales being plug-in vehicles. Despite this, the majority of vehicles currently on Norwegian roads are still fossil-fuel guzzlers. The process of retiring these vehicles simply takes time.
Dramatic Drop in Petrol Sales
Recent news highlighted by CleanTechnica reader trackdaze is truly noteworthy. Data from Norway reveals an astonishing 8% year-over-year drop in petrol sales in May. This is a significant decrease considering the normally slow rate of change in the overall vehicle fleet from year to year.
Well done, Norway! It’s important to note that this achievement isn’t solely due to new EV sales in the past year, but also the cumulative effect of EV sales in recent years, gradually pushing more petrol-powered cars to the end of their lifespans.
Specific Fuel Sales Figures
The numbers are striking: gasoline fuel sales for road transportation fell 3.7% in May 2024 compared to May 2023, while dutiable diesel fuel sales for road transportation plummeted 9.6% in the same period.
Looking at the year-to-date figures, gasoline sales are down 1.4%, dutiable diesel sales are down 7.3%, and overall petrol fuel for road transportation has decreased by 5.9%. This raises the intriguing question: what will these figures look like in another year’s time?