Tesla Model S is, for a short while at least, the best-selling car in Norway

It's no secret that Norway, even with cold winters that can bedevil electric vehicle performance, is the European EV leader. Nissan sold 1,000 Leaf EVs there in the first six months that car was available. Tesla is deploying Supercharger fast charge stations there, well before other European locations. And the national government is sticking with its plan, in effect for years already, to subsidize EVs. Add all these factors together and you get a world first: a market where the Tesla Model S has climbed to the top of the sales charts. It's not just the most popular EV, but the most popular vehicle sold with any powertrain. At least for a short while.

We can't discount the fact that we're still dealing with a luxury EV that has just entered the market, but for the first two weeks of September, the Model S beat out the perennially popular Volkswagen Golf, 322 to 256. For the first half of September, the Model S snagged 6.2 percent of the market, while the Golf came in second with 4.9 percent. In the first month the Model S was available in Norway, in August, it sold 184 units and at this rate, it'll outsell the Leaf for its first six months. The Leaf is currently the eighth-most popular car in Norway, of any powertrain type. These numbers come from data compiled by AID, and we have to say we're quite curious to see where it all goes from here.