The Tesla Model S is no longer Norway's best-selling car--but that title still belongs to an electric car.
For the month of October, the Nissan Leaf was Norway's best-selling car, Reuters reports, with 716 cars sold.
The Leaf accounted for 5.6 percent of all new cars sold in Norway in September--and 3.2 percent for the year so far. That makes it Norway's fourth best-selling car for 2013.
In September, Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA] sold 616 Model S electric sedans, giving it a 5.1-percent share of new vehicle sales for that month.
2013 Tesla Model S
Tesla's September sales, however, were reportedly helped by a large shipment of cars that helped to fill a backlog of orders. Tesla only sold 98 cars in Norway in October.
Plug-in electric cars took 7.2 percent of the Norwegian market overall, with 925 sales, compared to 3.4 percent for the same month last year, and 8.6 percent for September.
Norway has been called the friendliest place in the world for electric cars, thanks to aggressive tax policies and incentives like free parking to promote the use of plug-in cars.
These incentives are estimated to be worth $8,200 in savings per car, per year.
Norway's population distribution also makes it more electric-car friendly. Because the majority of Norwegians live in or near the capital city of Oslo, the average commute is 30 miles or less.
The first Tesla Model S sold outside the United States was sold in Norway, in July.
The Leaf's performance in October also continues a trend of strong sales in the country for Nissan's electric car.
While the Leaf and the Tesla Model S are two of the best-selling plug-in electric cars in the U.S., their sales remain very low compared to those of gasoline vehicles.
_______________________________________________
