Electric Car rental

Do you plan a one-way rental?

Yes it is, electric cars are very popular in Norway. In fact, there are more electric cars than petrol cars in Norway and last year diesel and petrol cars combined made up a grand total of 3.1 % of new car sales in Norway. Chargers are common and any hotel that has parking probably has at least a couple of parking sports with chargers.

In fact, there are more electric cars than petrol cars in Norway

No, the private car fleet in Norway by type of fuel shows that appr. a quarter of registered cars drive electric (source). But the car fleet in total grew from 1.8 to appr. 2.9 mn cars from 2004 to 2024. The number of cars is higher than the number of households - so more or less the electric fleet is widely the second car of a household because Norwegian e-car owners pay only the net price (no VAT, no annual tax, no import fee plus they can use the bus lanes and park for free in cities).

Yes- It will be a one way rental- pick up in Oslo and return to Trondheim.

Thanks!

No, the private car fleet in Norway by type of fuel shows that appr. a
quarter of registered cars drive electric (source).

That's old data. At the end of 2024 there were 788 836 electric cars in Norway and 724 149 petrol cars. (There are number of diesel cars as well, but those are not common as personal cars.)

But the car fleet in total grew from 1.8 to appr. 2.9 mn cars from
2004 to 2024. The number of cars is higher than the number of
households - so more or less the electric fleet is widely the second
car of a household

Many Norwegian households have an electric car as their only car, or an electric car as their first car and another electric car as their second car. And yes the number of cars is higher than the number of households, but keep in mind that those numbers include cars owned by companies.

(no VAT, no annual tax, no import fee plus they can use the bus lanes
and park for free in cities).

They can use the bus lanes in some towns and cities and park for free in some towns. That is not a national policy and varies, this is important to remember. You can't use the bus lanes in Oslo and Trondheim e.g., and if you do it's an 8200 kr fine. But electric cars get a discount on road tolls and ferries, that is a national policy.

lindarosen, I recommend to check the price for one-way rentals. They can be very expensive. Train is the alternative on this route: https://www.vy.no/

If you decide for rental car have a look at official scenic routes; two of them are just an acceptable detour on the way from Oslo to Trondheim.

Tip: have a look into the webcams of Norwegian real-time traffic report (link).

I was driving Trondheim to Oslo with own car in June 2023.

Just look into the above mentioned source with numbers (table 1) of the Norwegian statisrics authority for 2023:

761 163 petrol
1 074 068 diesel
689 169 electric
2 886 795 total registered vehicles

So, end of 2023 less than 25% of registered cars were electric.

Households with high incomes buy more new cars than households with low incomes (source).

For travelers this means that they will find a solid charging infrastructure and also a still good fuel infrastructure.

Hi Lindarosen

We were in Norway three years ago, and we rented EV in Bergen airport. First time ever driving an EV, and we wouldn't have done any other way.. The EV chargers are everywhere is Norway... Price for EV charging was approximately the cost of petrol in the US (per mileage basis) - but around 50% cheaper than gas in Norway.. We drove everywhere, and we saved so much based on charging vs. petrol..

All the chargers work on QRS code system, where you download the app and enter your credit card. - once you hook the charger, scan the QRS and voila, the car starts charging.. they are very fast.. and very convenient.. There are several charging networks , so be sure to download as much app as you come across.

Oh, make sure your rental car has Norway EZ pass installed.. the EZ pass will log in all the tolls and ferries you take, and few days after dropping off the car, you'll get summary of all the tolls you took, and the final charge will appear on your credit card..

We will be returning to Norway this June, and we are planning a road trip through Fjords (this time do Pulpit rock, all the way to Atlantic Ocean Drive) - we already reserved the EV via Hertz already (same company) - we also looked into one way rental as well.. but the cost of one way rental was astronomical.. It was easier to get all the way up to Atlantic Ocean Drive, and start back track to Bergen Airport.. otherwise we would have kept going to Lofeten islands and flew out from one of the airports..
The cost of one way rental was 3-4X the cost of returning the EV to the same airport.. we just didn't think it was worth it... well this way, we have the advantage of reexploring Geirangerfjords and other beautiful fjords on our way back to Bergen.
Did you get a good deal on the one way rental??

Train is the alternative on this route: https://www.vy.no/

Train is also a good alternative between Oslo and Trondheim, but the correct website to use is www.sj.no

Just look into the above mentioned source with numbers (table 1) of
the Norwegian statisrics authority for 2023: 761 163 petrol 1 074 068
diesel 689 169 electric 2 886 795 total registered vehicles So, end of
2023 less than 25% of registered cars were electric.

Looking at the figures for 2024, from www.ofvstatistikk.no, available at www.elbil.no, they are:

724 149 petrol
976 680 diesel
788 836 electric
206 307 plug in hybrid
155 606 hybrid
323 other

So 27.7% of all Norwegian cars are electric, and with 90% of new cars sold being electric that number is increasing fast.

Thanks to all for the helpful input. We are still working on securing the one-way EV rental and I can report back on the cost. We plan on a multiday hike in the Jotunheiman NP and will need a car to get there and continue on to other destinations (Rora, Leka) before we head fly home from Trondheim.