August was overall a strong month for car sales in the Nordics. In Finland, there is cause for celebration over the biggest growth in passenger cars in several years, and Denmark recorded its strongest August level since 2020.
The last month of summer was a stable one for Nordic car sales. Passenger cars accounted for the biggest increase in Finland, which with a much-needed growth of 26.2% ended the month with 6,642 new registrations. Denmark has little to complain about either. With 16,165 newly registered passenger cars and an increase of 24.1%, the country reached its highest August level in six years. On the largest market in the Nordics, Sweden, we have to go back three years to find an August that beats 2026. With 22,156 new registrations, Sweden lands 11.6% above the 2025 level. In Norway, on the other hand, a smaller decline of 3.4% had to be accepted.
Historically high electric car levels
The electric car shares also remain at historically high levels. After several years of instability in Sweden, we can note for the past month that we have never before seen an August with such high levels overall across the four markets.
Unsurprisingly, Norway remains completely dominant with an electric car share of 98.7% of new registrations. This means that while 13,274 electric cars were registered, only 64 diesel cars and 30 pure petrol cars made it into the statistics. Denmark follows with a share of 85.9%, Finland with 51.6% and finally Sweden with 45.5%.
In Sweden in particular, it will be interesting to follow electric car developments going forward, as both a support measure expires and an election is around the corner. Andrée Peters from Bilstatistik.se explains:
“The temporary tax rebate on petrol and diesel, which has enabled Sweden to have the lowest fuel prices in Europe, expires in November. At the same time, Sweden goes to the polls on 13 September, so it will be interesting to see what the incoming government decides to do in the area and how it may affect car sales going forward.”
Can Denmark overtake Norway when it comes to electric cars?
If we look at the development of electric cars in the vehicle fleet, it is above all Denmark that stands out. In just one year, the electric car share of the fleet has increased by 45.6% and is now at 23.5%. This development is driven not only by a high level of new registrations, but also by many conventional cars being scrapped or exported out of the country.
Even though Norway still has the highest electric car share in the vehicle fleet, 34.9%, development is not quite as fast there (+15.7% in one year). It is therefore not inconceivable that Denmark will overtake Norway in this area too in the coming years.
The very fact that a large number of new electric cars alone is not enough to change the vehicle fleet is also something that Geir Inge Stokke, managing director of Norwegian OFV, highlights:
“In August, Norway set a new record with an electric car share of 98.7 percent. The Norwegian new car market is now in practice entirely electric. If emissions from the passenger car fleet are to be reduced further, it therefore becomes increasingly important to speed up the replacement of older petrol and diesel cars,” says Stokke.
The percentage development is also fast in Sweden and Finland, but from lower starting levels. With growth of 21.4% in one year, Sweden now has a total electric car share of 9.6%, while Finland, with growth of 36.2%, has reached an electric car share of 7.3% in the vehicle fleet.
Volatile model top lists – but with national favourites
Even in August we see large shifts on the national model top lists. Campaigns and the general availability of different models leave their mark on the lists from month to month, but at the same time we often see clear national preferences – not least on the Swedish and Finnish markets.
August was no exception. In Sweden, Volvo takes both first and second place, while Toyota takes all the places on the Finnish top 5 list. With the exception of BMW and its iX5, Toyota is also the only brand represented on the top 10 lists in all markets.
Solid month for light trucks
When it comes to newly registered light trucks, it was also a relatively strong end to the summer. Sweden reached 3,145 newly registered vehicles, corresponding to growth of 26.1%, and was thus the country that fared best through August compared with last year's result. In Denmark and Norway, the month ended with increases of 12% and 10.6% respectively.
The Finnish joy over the long-awaited success of passenger car registrations is unfortunately not found on the light truck market. Here the figures tell a completely different story. Registrations of light trucks fell by 17.9% in August, which testifies to a business market that is still characterised by caution and restraint when it comes to investment.
Teemu Rennola, CEO of Finland's Value Clinic, describes it very bluntly as “a market where it is currently hard to find anything positive to highlight”.
For the year as a whole, Finland is 12.8% below last year's already low level. At the opposite end of the scale we find Sweden with +20.3%.
Even though August was not a strong month for newly registered trucks – Denmark, for example, recorded a decline of 29.6% compared with last year – all markets are more or less level for the first eight months of the year. The biggest positive change is in Norway with a modest +2.8%, while Denmark at the other end is at -3% so far.
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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)