Norway's government presented its budget for 2027 on 7 October 2026, and it makes almost every new electric car dearer on 1 January. Battery-electric cars are exempt from VAT on the first 300,000 kroner of their price today. Under the proposal, the exemption covers only the first 150,000 kroner.
Norwegian VAT is 25%. Lowering the threshold by 150,000 kroner therefore adds 37,500 kroner to any EV priced above 300,000 kroner — "the vast majority of electric cars", in the words of Christina Bu, secretary general of the Norwegian EV Association. Elbil24 points out that no new EV on the Norwegian market costs less than 150,000 kroner, so none escapes the change entirely.
What a Model Y costs
Elbil24 puts the Model Y at about 549,000 kroner today and over 586,000 kroner once the change applies. That is not an expensive outlier: the average electric car sold in Norway last quarter cost 550,127 kroner, so the typical EV takes the full 37,500 as well.
| Year | VAT-free up to | Extra VAT on a car priced above both thresholds |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 500,000 kroner | — |
| 2026 | 300,000 kroner | 50,000 kroner |
| 2027 (proposed) | 150,000 kroner | 37,500 kroner |
| 2028 (agreed path) | No exemption | 37,500 kroner |
VG reports that the government expects the 2027 step alone to raise 3.8 billion kroner.
Agreed a year ago, and open again
The step is not a surprise. It was written into the budget agreement that Labour, the Centre Party, the Red Party, the Greens (MDG) and the Socialist Left (SV) reached on 3 December 2025: VAT above 300,000 kroner in 2026, above 150,000 kroner in 2027, and full VAT from 2028. The government's own first proposal had been harsher — full VAT already in 2027.
What is new is that the 2027 step now sits in a budget that has to pass the Storting, where Labour governs as a minority. Elbil24 reports that MDG and SV have signalled opposition; MDG had earlier proposed a threshold of 400,000 kroner. Until the budget is settled, 150,000 kroner is a proposal, not law.
Fuel moves the other way only on paper. The budget cuts the road-use tax on petrol and diesel but raises the CO2 tax by more, and VG calculates a net increase of 20 øre a litre for petrol and 27 øre for diesel. Bu called the package "backwards climate policy".
What it means for Tesla in Norway
The Model Y was Norway's best-selling car again in September with 4,810 registrations, even as Tesla's market share fell to 26.3%. Tesla delivers to Norway in quarter-end waves, and this quarter's wave now runs into a tax deadline.
Teknisk Ukeblad reports that Drammen Havn, Norway's largest port for imported cars, expects another import record this year, and that dealers have started offering a "momsgaranti" — a VAT guarantee — as the exemption steps down. If the 2028 step holds, the same deadline returns a year later: a Model Y bought in 2028 would carry 75,000 kroner more VAT than one bought in 2026.