Electric vehicles accounted for a record 49% of new passenger car registrations in Sweden in October, new data from Transportföretagen has revealed.
However, the Swedish transport industry and employers’ organisation noted that weaker overall car sales and an ageing car fleet could slow the country’s transition to EVs.
Some 12,665 new electric cars were registered in Sweden in October, which is a 44.4% increase on the same month the previous year, when electric vehicles accounted for just over a third (34.8%) of new passenger car registrations.
In the period from January to October, some 103,963 electric passenger cars were registered, which also represents a record for that period. Meanwhile, new registrations of petrol and diesel cars fell to their lowest levels for the January-October period since 2006.
At the same time, vehicle deregistrations have fallen – by 17.7% so far this year – meaning that older cars are remaining on the road for longer.
‘Investment in electrification’
“It is gratifying that electric cars are becoming increasingly popular,” commented Tina Thorsell, head of social policy at Transportföretagen. “For car dealers and workshops, this means that the investments made in electrification have better prospects of becoming profitable.
“At the same time, the car trade has been in a state of decline for several years and more needs to be done to increase the total sales of new vehicles. We must not forget that the old cars that continue to roll on our roads mean both higher emissions and greater fossil fuel dependence than would have been desirable.”
Heavy trucks
In the heavy truck market, electrification is also gaining ground, with 454 new electric heavy trucks (weighing more than 4.25 tonnes) registered between January and October, compared with 303 during the same period last year.
However, this growth is coming from a low base, with electric vehicles now accounting for 8.4% of all newly registered heavy trucks.
“The electrification of heavy trucks came to a complete standstill in 2025, and it is positive news that the market is now starting to ease up on quiet and emission-free road freight transport,” Thorsell added. “At the same time, the levels are of course far too low to make a real difference to the total. Heavy trucks account for a significant part of road traffic emissions and electrification has been identified as the way forward. The next government has a job to do here to further facilitate the electrification of heavy trucks.”
Electrification is also gaining ground in the heavy truck market, although from a relatively low base. Between January and October, 454 new electric heavy trucks weighing more than 4.25 tonnes were registered, compared with 303 during the same period last year. Electric vehicles accounted for approximately 8.4% of all newly registered heavy trucks.
Elsewhere, growth is also being reported in the light truck market – in October, electric vehicles accounted for 27% of new light truck registrations, with plug-in hybrids representing a further 6%.
Some 8,519 new electric light trucks were registered during the first ten months of 2026, an increase of more than a third (36.6%) compared with the same period last year. Read more here.
