In a statement, the NEVA said 58.4% of the vehicles sold last month were BEV or battery electric vehicles, taking the share of the BEV market in the first quarter to a high of 48.4%.

Australia's Opposition Labor Party said on Monday that businesses would be given tax breaks to buy electric vehicles under a plan to curb pollution.

But no target has been set for the number or percentage of BEVs that Labor wants to see on the roads by any given year.

Oslo has waived vehicle import duties and registration and sales tax for those who buy electric vehicles and they are not charged road tolls and allowed to use bus lanes in congested areas.

These incentives will be in force until the end of 2021.

NEVA secretary-general Christina Bu said the American manufacturer Tesla had 5315 Model 3 units registered in March, beating the previous strong number recorded by Nissan LEAF in 2018.

"Norway has every reason to be proud of breaking more BEV records. The BEV policy is working so well that the larger part of consumers opt for a BEV when buying a new car," said Bu.

"Norway shows the whole world that fully electric cars can replace petrol and diesel cars and become an important contribution to combat CO2 emissions, as well as relieving local air from other harmful gases caused by burning fossil fuels."