Electric cars hit 86% of new sales in Denmark, but a tax hike looms

Electric cars set a new record in Denmark in August, but new taxes could make EVs more expensive from the start of next year. Industry body Mobility Denmark is urging the government to permanently remove registration tax on electric cars.

A record month for new car sales

A total of 16,165 new passenger cars were registered in Denmark in August, 3,142 more than in August 2025, an increase of 24.1 percent.

Electric cars set a fresh record within that total. 13,887 new EVs hit Danish roads in August, meaning electric cars accounted for 85.9 percent of all new car sales, the highest EV share ever recorded in Denmark’s overall new car market.

Year to date, 131,744 new cars have been registered in Denmark according to bilstatistik.dk, up 13.2 percent on the same period last year.

Mobility Denmark CEO Mads Rørvig says Danes have voted with their feet and clearly want electric cars, adding that the EV share of total car sales has never been higher, which makes it counterproductive for politicians to respond to that success by making electric cars more expensive.

A tax change looms at the new year

The current tax scheme for electric cars is due to change at the start of 2027. Unless politicians intervene, registration tax on EVs will rise, making a number of popular electric models more expensive.

This comes at a time when electric cars have firmly become Danes’ preferred choice, a shift that is directly helping to cut CO2 emissions from transport. Mobility Denmark points to experience from Sweden and Germany, where sudden policy changes that made electric cars more expensive had a direct impact on sales.

Rørvig argues it makes no sense to first get Danes to choose electric cars and then raise taxes once that shift succeeds, adding that if the government wants more green cars on the roads, the solution is simple: do not tax the purchase of electric cars more heavily.

The government has already opened the door

The government’s own coalition platform has floated the idea of permanently abolishing registration tax on electric cars. Mobility Denmark believes the government should now follow through on that ambition.

Rørvig says the government has already opened the door to scrapping the registration tax on electric cars and should now walk through it, adding that it would be difficult to explain to Danes why a government aiming to be the greenest ever would choose to raise taxes on the very car type driving the green transition. He concludes that permanently removing the registration tax on electric cars is simple, green, and ensures ordinary Danes are not financially penalised for choosing an EV.

Top 10 models in August 2026

Source: Mobility Denmark, based on data from Bilstatistik.dk.