One in five cars sold in Norway last month was a Tesla Model 3

One in five cars sold in Norway last month was a Tesla Model 3, as Tesla claimed a quarter of all car sales in the Scandinavian country for the month.

In addition to the 2,342 Model 3 sales, which were significantly higher than July’s 492 Model 3 deliveries and August’s 830, the Californian electric carmaker also sold 420 Model S premium electric sedans and Model X SUVs.

An explanation for the ramp up in sales in September compared to July and August is likely the approach of the end of the quarter as Tesla reaches towards another record for global delivery numbers.

A sale does not count until it is delivered, hence the ramp up towards the end of quarter so characteristic of Tesla.

For the entire year until the end of Q3, Tesla has sold 16,689 vehicles – one in three of all electric vehicle sales which have almost hit the 50,000 mark, and double that of all of 2018 before the Model 3 hit the market.

The Tesla Model 3 has been pegged as a driver of the transition to electric mobility in European and US markets, and these numbers in the world’s leading EV market by share could be an indicator of what is to come in Australia.

In Australia, deliveries of the Tesla Model 3 finally began late August and it is understood that September deliveries may have reached as many as 1,500 as Tesla’s Australian staff grapple with extraordinary logistics hitherto unexperienced in Australia.

While it is true that this is for now a post-launch peak it will be interesting to see if the “snowball” effect happens here as it has overseas, as families and friends seeing the Model 3 for the first time also decide to make what is known as the “Tesla stretch“.

But back to Norway.

The Norwegian figures, which are published via Norway’s road and traffic authority OFV, show that the total 3,299 Model 3 sales for the third quarter was over double that of the next most popular electric vehicle, the Nissan Leaf.

This in part could be due to the difference in sales strategy between the two carmakers; as a legacy carmaker, Nissan sells typically sells through dealers according to existing inventory while Tesla sells online, then builds and delivers.

As a whole, electric vehicle sales in Norway for September exceeded all petrol and diesel sales, claiming 54.5% in sales and 64.8% in overall market share.