Apart from a few exceptions, the Nordic car market had a relatively quiet February. The most notable development was the rising share of electric cars across all four markets.
Excluding Norway, passenger car registrations in February were close to last year’s levels. Denmark and Finland ended the month up 2.8% and 3.3%, respectively. Finland in particular welcomed a return to growth, and Teemu Rennola, CEO of Finland’s Value Clinic, looks to the rest of the quarter with cautious optimism:
“February’s registrations reflect a market showing cautious signs of improvement. The 3.3% rise in passenger car registrations—and especially the fact that growth had already reached 17.6% by the 27th of the month—suggests that demand has not disappeared, but fluctuates with the calendar and economic conditions. Although the year to date remains 1.1% below last year, current developments give us realistic hope that the first quarter could finish in positive territory.”
Declines in Sweden and Norway – but for good reasons
Sweden and Norway, however, recorded declines in February. Norwegian registrations were 18.7% below February 2025. This was an improvement from January’s record low, but the surge in purchases ahead of the VAT changes at the turn of the year still seems to be affecting demand for new registrations. Sweden ended February down 2.2%. Disruptions at the Swedish Transport Agency in the final days of the month affected the total number of new Swedish registrations.
Andrée Peters, Director of Bilstatistik.se, explains:
“This month’s registration figures were clearly affected by the disruptions experienced by the Swedish Transport Agency at the end of the month, when car registrations could not be completed in Sweden for a couple of days. In light of this, it is reasonable to think that February might otherwise have exceeded last year’s level. We also continue to see private customers driving the market, while the business segment is moving in the opposite direction.”
Mixed year-to-date results
Year to date, Denmark is the only passenger car market in positive territory, 10.2% above last year. Finland, already at a low registration level, was 1.1% below the same point last year at the end of February. Sweden’s registrations were down 10.4%, while Norway, down 48.1%, is paying the price for last year’s record level. Geir Inge Stokke, CEO of Norway’s Opplysningsrådet for veitrafikken, says:
“We are now seeing signs that the Norwegian market is moving back towards a more normal level of activity after the year-end shifts caused by the VAT changes. February remains below last year’s level, but the development during the month suggests that the market is gradually recovering.”
Steady green progress – fastest in Denmark
Electric car shares rose in all four markets again in February. It will be some time before anyone catches Norway’s commanding 98% share, but Denmark is making striking progress: electric cars accounted for 81.6% of all new registrations and 94.4% among private buyers. Sweden and Finland have also moved in a greener direction for several months running, reaching shares of 40.1% and 44.2%, respectively.
Replacing the Nordics’ large fleet of fossil-fuel cars will naturally take time, but the high share of electric cars among new registrations is already visible in the vehicle fleets. In Norway, nearly one in three passenger cars on the road is electric; Finland is at the other end of the scale, at 6.4%. The shift is relatively fast: over one year, the number of electric cars in the fleet rose by 50.8% in Denmark, 37.5% in Finland, 19.3% in Sweden and 16.4% in Norway.
Brand and model loyalty may be weakening
Electric cars dominate every top 10 list. Two models appear in all four countries: Toyota bZ4X and Tesla Model Y. As usual, Volvo is dominant in Sweden, while the other three countries’ lists are more affected by changing availability and promotions. Denmark’s ranking changed particularly sharply in February, with nine different brands represented. Citroën returned to the list: its new electric C3 just made tenth place.
A mixed start for vans and trucks
Registrations of heavier vehicles had a mixed start to the year. For trucks, Denmark was the only market to grow in February: up 7.6%, with 412 new registrations. Norway was a whisker below February 2025 (-0.3%), with 378 registrations. Sweden registered 361 new trucks, down 14.5%, followed by another figure of 207 registrations, 11.5% below February last year.
Van results were just as mixed, with somewhat larger swings. Sweden did best, registering 2,861 new vans and ending February up 20.2%. As noted, this result must be viewed in light of the Swedish Transport Agency’s problems, which prevented registrations in the final days of the month. Denmark finished 1.2% above February last year, Finland 5.3% below, and Norway completed its run of negative results with a 24.7% decline in vans.
Sharing data
Figures and data from this article may only be shared with the following source references:
Danish data: Bilstatistik.dk
Swedish data: Bilstatistik.se
Norwegian data: Opplysningsrådet for veitrafikken (OFV)
Finnish data: Value Clinic (Finnish Transport and Communications Agency Traficom, Transport Register)