The Nordic car sales got a very strong first summer month. All four markets ended June with a plus for passenger cars, while both Sweden and Norway showed green figures for passenger cars, light trucks and trucks.
In June too, it was Danish passenger car sales that accounted for the biggest increase in the Nordics. With 21,487 new registrations, the level rose by 12.9 percent compared with June 2025. Sweden and Norway increased by 6.6 and 6.4 percent respectively, while Finland, symptomatic of the general picture so far this year, had to settle for a more modest increase of 1.7 percent.
So far this year it is also Denmark that has had the strongest growth. The first half-year ends with an increase of 12.9 percent. For Norway, Sweden and Finland, development lands more or less at the status quo. Norway is 2.8 percent below last year's level, Sweden 0.3 percent below, while Finland is exactly at the same modest level as 2025.
Different framework conditions shape the development for electric cars
Electric cars also had a strong month of June, even though the Norwegians could note something as unusual as a small decrease in the electric car share compared with June last year. It is hardly likely to cause much drama, since it concerns a few hundred units, corresponding to a decrease from 96.9 to 96.5 percent. Norway's new car sales are de facto electric. Denmark is moving rapidly in the same direction, and in June a total of 79.1 percent of new registrations were electric and 95.8 percent if you look only at the private segment.
Finland and Sweden are also moving in a greener direction, with electric car shares of 48.1 and 44.9 percent respectively, but the development also shows how crucial stable framework conditions are.
Jonathan Schacht Halling Nielsen, deputy CEO of Mobility Denmark, says:
“The Nordic figures show that electrification is moving at several different paces. Norway is still furthest ahead, but Denmark is clearly positioning itself as the second most electrified new car market in the Nordics. This is not least because electric cars have become a real economic alternative for many car buyers. It is therefore also crucial that this development is not slowed by higher registration tax on electric cars after the turn of the year.”
In Sweden, where the transition already faces tougher consumer conditions despite some success, the market potentially meets yet another obstacle from July. Andrée Peters, CEO of Bilstatistik.se, says:
“The share of electric cars continues to increase in Sweden, and it is above all the large SUVs that have developed best so far this year (+57 percent and +4,899 vehicles). From 1 July to 30 September, the tax on both petrol and diesel is reduced by SEK 3 per litre at the pump. How this temporary subsidy will affect demand for electric cars going forward remains to be seen, but we are of course following developments.”
Top 10 lists with more in common than usual
Normally we do not agree much on the models on the Nordic top lists, but in June there are nevertheless a few points of contact. While the Model Y tops the list in both Denmark and Norway with a good margin to second place, it has to settle for second place in Sweden – after Volvo, of course – and fourth place in Finland. Toyota, which has long been a crowd favourite in Finland, takes as many as five of the ten places in June: first, second, third, fifth and sixth place.
Teemu Rennola from Finland's Value Clinic comments:
”Den mest anmärkningsvärda enskilda utvecklingen i juniregistreringarna var Toyotas tillväxt på över 70 procent – särskilt inom elbilar, där registreringarna ökade från 12 enheter året innan till 459 enheter.”
In the other markets too, Toyota has had a more than passable month. In Denmark and Sweden the brand takes two places on the top 10 list, while in Norway it manages three top 10 placements.
Yet another month of mixed results for heavy vehicles
Truck registrations reached a really strong level in June in Sweden (+12.5 percent), Norway (+19.6 percent) and Finland (+18.7 percent), while Denmark landed 13.7 percent below the level for June 2025. The results mean that Denmark is the only market to end up a hair below the first half of last year (-1.1 percent), while the other Nordic markets just make it over the line – Finland with +3.8 percent, Norway with +2.5 percent and Sweden with +2.4 percent.
The picture is more mixed for light trucks. June ended with a plus in Norway (+15.7 percent), Sweden (+9.6 percent) and Denmark (+0.8 percent), while Finland recorded a decline of 13 percent.
For the first half-year this means that the Nordics are split down the middle. Denmark and Sweden increase by 3.3 and 20.7 percent respectively, while Finland and Norway fall by 10.8 and 7.8 percent respectively.
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Figures and data from the article may only be shared with a clear reference to the source:
Danish data: Bilstatistik.dk
Swedish data: Bilstatistik.se
Norwegian data: Opplysningsrådet for veitrafikken
Finnish data: Value Clinic (Finnish Transport and Communications Agency Traficom, Transport and Traffic Register)