Huge Demand Sees Second Hand Model S’s Sold for as Much as $130k in Norway

The Tesla Model S electric car only went on sale in Europe in August, but already official records have marked it down as the top selling car in Norway during the month of September. The Model S managed to quickly capture 5.1% of the Norwegian automobile market, making the gasoline powered Volkswagen Golf the second most popular car with 4.6% of the market.

The Model S is already a best seller in the US, where so far this year it has sold an estimated 14,300 units.

Joar Tenfjord, the head of Tesla's dealers in Bergen, said that "there has been an enormous demand for this car, and it doesn't seem to stop. We have a lot of customers on the waiting list right now."

Reuters explain that electric cars have quickly become a popular choice in Norway thanks to huge support from the government who offer: generous subsidies, free parking, a network of re-charge stations around the country, express lanes on the highways, and an exemption from paying tolls.

In fact demand for the Model S is so high, that people are even willing to pay a massive premium to buy the car second hand and beat the five month waiting list. All cars are notoriously more expensive in Norway due to high government taxes, and a new Model S is in the region of $110,000 - $117,000, far higher than the $70,000 that the car costs in the US. Some people lucky enough to have already received a Model S are now taking advantage of the demand to sell their cars for as much as $130,000.

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Tenfjord said that he has seen "some people make a very nice profit on these cars. The demand is extreme."

Anders Langset, who bought his Model S for second hand, explained that, "I paid more for a second-hand car than I would have paid if I bought it when it was new, but the demand is so high that I am sure I would get my money back and then some if I sold it again today."

Due to the high taxes in Norway, linked closely to engine emissions, cars with a traditional gasoline engine, that offers the same amount of power as the Model S, would cost on average around $200,000, so it easy to see why some people are happy to pay as much as $130,000. Most manufacturers actually offer their models with smaller engines in Norway than in the rest of Europe, in order to keep the price down.

By. Joao Peixe of Oilprice.com