Nordic car sales got off to a faltering start in 2026. Only Denmark recorded growth in January, while Finland, Sweden and especially Norway saw declines. The share of electric car registrations rose in every market except Norway.
The first month of 2026 is over, and some markets may wish they could return it. Denmark was the only country where car registrations finished above January last year. With 12,803 new passenger cars, Denmark recorded growth of 18.2%. Sweden and Finland saw declines of 18.4% and 4.8%, respectively.
In Sweden, individual factors explain much of the fluctuation, while it is clear that business customers are the main drag on the figures. Andrée Peters, Director of Bilstatistik.se, says:
“Both Volvo and VW have started the year weakly, with almost 1,800 fewer passenger car registrations than last year. That accounts for roughly half of the decline we see in January. The other half can largely be explained by the unusually high number of ethanol cars registered in January 2025, which creates a distorted basis for comparison. Private leasing has risen sharply, by 47%, while company car leasing is down 6%. Volvo is a major factor, with 46% fewer cars leased to businesses. Delivery times and prospective buyers waiting for the EX60 have probably also played a part.”
Norway, meanwhile, has woken up with the expected January hangover after a record end to 2025: just 2,218 new passenger car registrations, 76% below the January 2025 level. Geir Inge Stokke, Director of Norway’s Opplysningsrådet for veitrafikken, takes the figures in his stride:
“New car registrations in Norway got off to a lukewarm start in 2026. Tax changes just before the turn of the year created artificial sales peaks followed by a sharp drop. We saw something similar after the VAT change in 2023. January’s figures therefore do not mean demand has stalled; they reflect the exceptional final rush before the New Year. We expect registrations to pick up again as the market stabilises.”
Electric car shares rise everywhere except Norway
Alongside Norway’s sharp drop in registrations, the country also generated another striking—and rare—January headline: the share of electric cars among new registrations slipped slightly to 94%, from 95.8% in January 2025.
The other three markets reported far more encouraging electric car results. In Denmark, electric cars now account for 83% of new registrations, up 29.1% in a year. Finland, which has been steadily expanding its electric fleet, made a major leap: a 60.5% increase brought its electric car share to 46% in January. Sweden, where electric car shares have long stagnated, also made a strong advance, driven mainly by private leasing. Growth of almost 45% since January 2025 leaves electric cars with a 42% share of new Swedish registrations.
Mobility Denmark welcomes this development, while stressing that continued progress depends on the right incentives:
“Electric vehicles are playing an ever larger role in Scandinavia, and the green transition is well under way in every country. Progress has been particularly rapid in Denmark in recent years, and we believe we are moving closer to Norwegian levels. Continued growth requires the right conditions, however. That is why it is crucial that the reduced registration tax on electric cars has been maintained in 2026,” says Mads Rørvig, CEO of Mobility Denmark.
The transition is also beginning to show in the Nordic vehicle fleets.
Denmark reached a milestone in January when electric cars overtook diesel cars in the fleet. Electric vehicles now account for 19% of Denmark’s passenger cars, second only to Norway’s 33%. Sweden is approaching 9%, while Finland has just passed 6%.
Although Finnish car sales are hardly booming, Teemu Rennola, CEO of Finland’s Value Clinic, sees the rise in electric cars as a positive sign:
“Although January remained subdued, the sharp rise in electric cars’ market share, together with solid demand for trucks, provided some positive momentum. Our forecast puts total new passenger car registrations in Finland at around 72,000 to 73,000 in 2026. This reflects the uncertainty currently affecting the market. Reducing that uncertainty will be essential to support a broader recovery in car sales. Encouragingly, the latest economic outlook for Finland already points in a moderately positive direction for the year, and we hope that trend will come through.”
New names in the top 10 lists
As usual, the four Nordic markets find it difficult to agree on their favourites. Toyota bZ4X finished first in Denmark, Volkswagen ID.3 in Norway, Volvo EX40 in Sweden and Tesla Model Y in Finland.
Across the 40 places on the four countries’ top 10 lists, 27 different models appear. Only two models feature in all four lists: Tesla Model Y and Toyota bZ4X. One notable change is in Finland, a market traditionally fond of hybrids, where electric cars are increasingly taking places in the top 10. January also brought a Chinese car to a Nordic top list for the first time: Changan’s Deepal S05 reached fifth place in Norway.
A good month for truck registrations, but a weak one for vans
January was not a strong month for vans. Denmark managed modest growth of 3%, reaching 1,870 new van registrations. The other three markets performed worse. Sweden saw the smallest decline, at 6.2%; Norway and Finland recorded falls of 30.9% and 25.6%, respectively, compared with January last year.
Results were better for heavier vehicles. Sweden had the weakest truck month, with 359 new registrations, down 17.7%. Finland, Denmark and Norway recorded acceptable growth of 10.3%, 10.4% and 35.8%, respectively.
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)