This photo taken on Jan. 2, 2026 shows a dealership of Chinese automaker BYD in Oslo, the capital of Norway. Chinese car brands continued to gain ground in the Norwegian new car market in 2025, accounting for 13.7 percent of all newly-registered passenger cars, according to new data released Friday. (Photo by Chen Yaqin/Xinhua)
OSLO, Jan. 2 (Xinhua) -- Chinese car brands continued to gain ground in the Norwegian new car market in 2025, accounting for 13.7 percent of all newly-registered passenger cars, according to new data released Friday.
The Nordic country logged a record year for new car registrations, with the share of electric cars also reaching a new high, the Norwegian Road Traffic Information Council (OFV) reported.
OFV's figures show that 179,550 new passenger cars were registered in Norway in 2025, breaking the previous annual record set in 2021. Meanwhile, the electric car share in new passenger-car sales reached 95.9 percent in 2025.
A total of 24,524 new passenger cars of Chinese origin were registered in 2025, up from a 10.4-percent share a year earlier, OFV said.
The year also saw an especially strong finish for Chinese brands, which captured a 17-percent market share in December, compared with 7.7 percent in the same month of 2024.
OFV said that BYD was the largest Chinese car brand in Norway in 2025, ranking 10th on its brand list, "strongly driven" by the BYD Sealion 7 model. In December, BYD climbed to 7th among the most-registered brands, while the Sealion 7 placed 6th on the model chart for the month.
"Chinese car manufacturers have in a short time become an important part of the Norwegian market, with competitive electric models in central segments," said Geir Inge Stokke, director of OFV.
European, American and Japanese brands still dominate the annual top lists by total volumes, he noted. However, sales of Chinese cars are spread across several brands and models, contributing to broader competition and greater variety in the electric car market.
Brand competition remained intense in 2025. Tesla reinforced its position as Norway's No. 1 brand, with the automaker registering 34,285 new passenger cars in 2025, equivalent to a 19.1-percent market share.
Meanwhile, although Volkswagen trailed behind Tesla over the full year, it narrowed the gap in the final stretch. In December, Volkswagen recorded 5,237 registrations and took a 14.9-percent market share, compared with Tesla's 16.2 percent for the month.
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