(Bloomberg) -- Norway, the pioneer in abandoning combustion-engine automobiles, may see electric cars become the biggest single category of passenger vehicles by 2026, on its way to making up more than half of all cars by 2030.

The Nordic nation, where a quarter of cars are already fully electric, will see more vehicles running purely on batteries than gasoline this year, according to forecasts by the Norwegian Road Federation, or OFV, published on Friday.

EVs may reach a 36% share of the total market, or just over 1 million units, by 2026, according to the projections. That would exceed pure diesel and gasoline cars, which are expected to hold 31% and 21%, respectively. By 2030, EVs will make up more than half of cars on Norwegian roads, with just 24% running only on diesel and 15% on gasoline. 

Hybrids and plug-in hybrids are estimated to have a combined market share of about 12% in 2026, declining to about 9% by 2030.

Norway aims for all new cars sold to be fossil-fuel free by next year. The target, which doesn’t involve an outright ban, has been increasingly challenged in past years by authorities scaling back incentives. The federation said on Friday it is unlikely to be reached before 2030 as “several manufacturers have changed their strategy and will continue to develop other technology.”

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