Electric vehicle (EV) adoption is a key to meeting global climate targets, with transportation accounting for nearly a quarter of global CO₂ emissions. Yet, progress has been slow, particularly in many advanced economies, where market uptake continues to face structural barriers, including high purchase prices, limited infrastructure, and ongoing policy uncertainty. In this context, Norway stands out as a global leader, with EVs making up nearly 90% of new car sales in 2024.
This timely policy brief, authored by Andrii Yatsura (MBA ’24) under the guidance of Professors Romel Mostafa and Gal Raz examines Norway’s EV transition, demonstrating how early and sustained policy interventions helped the country overcome key adoption barriers such as affordability and range anxiety. Measures including tax exemptions, toll waivers, and significant investments in charging infrastructure illustrate coordinated, long-term action. Notably, Norway managed to balance its role as a leading oil exporter with its pioneering efforts in vehicle electrification, setting a global benchmark for sustainable transportation initiatives.
Three factors proved central to Norway’s success: 1) a willingness to experiment with policy in the absence of an established blueprint; 2) strong political will to maintain long-term commitment amid uncertainty; and 3) a sustained financial commitment to infrastructure and consumer incentives. Together, these created the conditions for mass adoption and offer a valuable framework for countries seeking to accelerate their own EV transitions.
Norway’s experience also reflects the S-curve pattern common in the adoption of new technologies. Market growth accelerates once cost gaps between internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs) and EVs narrow, and supporting charging infrastructure is in place. Today, countries face fewer obstacles than Norway did at the early stages of the adoption curve, with EVs now offering improved range and more competitive pricing. While incentives may remain important in the short term, they can be gradually phased out as adoption scales, easing long-term fiscal pressure. However, countries have to rapidly expand charging infrastructure to tip the market and keep pace with demand beyond the tipping point.
While Norway’s model offers valuable insights, each country must develop strategies suited to its own geographic and economic context. In Canada, this includes expanding regional charging networks, improving affordability, and ensuring grid readiness. At the same time, recent geopolitical developments, such as newly imposed U.S. auto tariffs and reduced federal EV support, threaten to disrupt automobile supply chains and common market access At this pivotal moment, Canada must leverage its strategic advantages, including critical mineral reserves, a skilled workforce, and established industrial capacity, while reinforcing the competitiveness of its integrated auto sector. It must also have robust negotiation with the US to preserve the core provisions of CUSMA.
Norway’s success confirms that the EV transition is both possible and predictable. The challenge now is not whether it will happen, but how—and how effectively—countries will lead it.