Norway March 2014: Tesla Model S above 10% share, #1 YTD, BMW i3 #10!

The Tesla Model S sold as much as the VW Golf, Up and Toyota Auris combined.

* NOW UPDATED with the Top 130 best-selling models and Top 32 brands! *

New car sales in Norway are up a massive 29% year-on-year in March to 13,861 registrations, bringing the year-to-date total after one quarter to 36,492 units, up 8% on 2013. And the first relevant piece of information about the Norwegian new car market this month is that it continues to behave like it’s on another planet, or at least 10 years ahead of any other market in the world… If you thought the Tesla Model S had exhausted all its potential after its incredible run over the past few months (#1 last September and December, #2 last November), well you were wrong. Very wrong. In March the Model S delivers no less than its best performance yet, and by far. Thanks to an incredible 1,493 sales, it grabs 10.8% of the Norwegian car market, the first time an all-electric model manages that feat anywhere in the world.

Tesla Model S

This means the Model S sold as much as its 3 followers in the ranking combined: the VW Golf (624), Toyota Auris (472) and VW Up (444), and is now #1 year-to-date with 2,056 sales and 5.6% ahead of the VW Golf (1,577) and Nissan Leaf (1,522). It also means only one brand managed to sell more cars than the Tesla Model S in Norway this month: Volkswagen at 1,772 units. With just one model, Tesla is indeed the #2 brand in the country this month ahead of Toyota (1,441), BMW (1,016) and Nissan (924). I could go on and on with more records but I think by now you get the picture. Tesla is literally making history in Norway right now, and rewriting the rules of what sales level a car this size, let alone an all-electric one, can achieve.

The BMW i3 breaks into a country’s Top 10 for the very first time.

But wait there’s more all-electric records this month in Norway… First let’s salute the exceptional performances of the VW Up at an all-time high 4th position, up 327% year-on-year due to the success of the e-Up. Then we have the out-of-this-world 10th place of the BMW i3 with 336 sales and 2.4%, whereas I had not seen this model break into any country’s Top 50 so far! Norway definitely confirms this month its position as the electric car heaven of the world… Finally let’s notice the Toyota RAV4 up 148% to #8, the Volvo XC60 up 68% to #15, BMW 3 Series up 66% to #16 and the Audi A3 up 105% to #17.

Previous month: Norway February 2014: VW Golf edges past Nissan Leaf, Tesla Model S #4

One year ago:  Norway March 2013: Mazda CX-5 threatens VW Golf

Full March 2014 Top 130 models and Top 32 brands Ranking Tables below.