I was there this summer working on an oil rig (Aasta Hansteen), ironically. Teslas, BMW i3's/i8's and more... everywhere. What is more, is that many of the Norwegians who work in the oil industry own electric cars because "petrol" cars are too expensive.
The level of economic tax break is such that a Leaf costs about the same as a Golf[1]. These are pretty equivalent cars in size, though the Leaf is more fun around town, and the Golf more fun on the highway. But the Leaf has a huge range disadvantage.
Wikipedia also says:
>Electric vehicles are also exempt from the annual road tax, all public parking fees, and toll payments, as well as being able to use bus lanes. These incentives are in effect until the end of 2017 or until the 50,000 EV target is achieved.
People are buying these largely as second cars (which is what everybody should be doing, IMHO). Once the battery costs come down so that 300-500km BEV range costs same cost as gas up front, BEVs become the primary car, and market share will increase even further.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plug-in_electric_vehicles_in_N...
Not to mention there are usually far better offerings for electric cars in Europe. Such as the Golf GTE which isn't available in North America: http://www.autotrader.ca/expert/20170605/first-drive-2018-vo...
The lack of infrastructure is also a big deal. I personally didn't get a plug-in because of the lack of access to plugs in my apartment building and only a few charging stations in my city.
A more accurate description would be to say that there is a massive discouragement to buy fossile fuel cars in Norway.