The January auto market was highly anomalous due to the new year’s introduction of tighter auto emissions and tax increases, which had pulled sales forward into December. Overall January auto volumes were just 1,860 units, under 5% of December’s volume, and the lowest monthly volume in over 60 years! The auto market will resume more typical patterns in the months ahead. January’s bestseller was the Volkswagen ID.Buzz.
For the most popular and affordable entry BEVs, the effective outlay for the consumer is now roughly 5% higher than it was previously. For the midsized SUVs that Norway favours, the additional outlay is roughly 8% to 10%, or more. This is a comparatively light burden compared to all other powertrains, and smaller and less expensive BEVs are favoured.
Overall, it will be interesting to see what the auto landscape will look like once these new policies become normalized and new consumer preferences start to work their way through into the sales results.With the caveat that we can’t read much into January’s tea leaves, the Volkswagen ID. Buzz was the best selling vehicle for the month, fractionally ahead of its sibling the ID.4. Their cousin, the Skoda Enyaq, came in third.