Major Developments in 2024

In 2024, new passenger car registrations in Sweden fell to their lowest level in 10 years due to the recession, high interest rates, and lack of policy. Heavy and light truck registrations decreased by 21% and 12%, respectively, and the bus market declined by 30%. EV growth stopped, while plug-in hybrids increased, leading to a rise in average emissions by three grams of CO2 per kilometre.

A total of 269,498 passenger cars were registered, a 7% decrease from 2023. Electric vehicle registrations fell by 16%, while plug-in hybrids increased by 3%. The share of rechargeable passenger cars dropped by one percentage point, with the corporate market driving electrification. Despite new government policies, more measures are needed to reverse the trend.

Carbon dioxide emissions from new passenger cars increased from 61 to 64 grams per kilometre. To meet the Effort Sharing Regulation (ESR) targets, measures are needed to stimulate demand for EVs. Light truck registrations decreased by 12% to 38,318, with the share of electric light trucks increasing from 20% to 22%. The weak construction market has delayed the introduction of electric light trucks, necessitating extended support for electrification. Heavy truck registrations decreased by 21% to 5,230, with 6.5% being electric, up from 4% in 2023. Control measures for purchasing new electric trucks have helped, but reduced fossil fuel taxes have counteracted this progress.

The bus market decreased the most, by 30% compared to 2023, with 783 new buses registered. The share of electric buses was 32%, up from 28% in 2023. Regional and long-distance buses need to continue to be supported through the Climate Premium, while the charging infrastructure for buses needs to be expanded where they have natural waiting times.

Charging infrastructure is expanding faster than the vehicle fleet. The number of charging stations increased by over 40% in 2024 to 4,694, and charge points rose by 37% to over 45,000. At the year’s end, there were about 8 EVs per public charge point in Sweden. This growth is due to rapid expansion and improved data collection for the official charging infrastructure database (Nobil). Official data on the number of non-public charge points is missing, however, the number is estimated to be ten times more than the number of public charge points. An indication of the expansion can be obtained by studying the support programs for the installation of non-public charge points. Altogether, these have supported over 520,00 charge points.

Demonstration Projects

Electricity for Even More
Rechargeable vehicles are key to climate goals and the transition to electrification. With rapid growth in the transport sector, one in ten passenger cars is now rechargeable, but continued access to home charging is crucial for cost-effective use. However, half of Sweden’s households live in apartments with limited charging options. To support fair and efficient electrification, solutions are needed for those without home charging. While public charging can help, optimal placement and methods require further study.

The “Electricity for Even More” project aims to tackle this by developing a decision-support tool to guide charging infrastructure expansion. This tool will estimate demand with high geographical precision nationwide, generating insights and business models for effective public charging. The project seeks to ensure a cost-efficient, equitable rollout of charging infrastructure. It will analyse urban areas, user needs, global best practices, and business models. Coordinated by RISE, the project runs until autumn 2025.

Hugo
The system demonstrator “Winter-Hugo” aims to develop and evaluate two transport services that use a small, autonomous transport robot. The transport services will be developed together with the users and will specifically build knowledge about the autonomous transport of light goods in difficult winter conditions. The hardware to be developed will be a winter-adapted version of the Swedish transport robot Hugo.

The system demonstrator will initially operate an existing home delivery service during the first winter. In the second winter, the transport service will be expanded to serve more people within a 15 km radius. At Rönnskärsverken, one of the most efficient copper smelters, the service will replace the current pipe mail system for transporting time-critical melt samples. Discarding a melt is costly and wastes significant energy, making speed and, above all, reliability essential.

The project also focuses on designing autonomous transport services to enhance Swedish preparedness. It aims to develop an autonomous system capable of delivering supplies from storage to operational areas during mobilisation. Additionally, it explores “dual use” applications in agriculture and forestry to strengthen resilience and food security. Led by the Swedish Road and Transport Research Institute (VTI), the three-year project has a total budget of approximately €3 million.

Sector Insights

The deregulated Swedish electricity market allows almost anyone to become a charging point operator, creating a vast ecosystem of charging infrastructure supported by private and public efforts. Public charging infrastructure has expanded significantly with increased funding. Efforts are also underway to develop charging infrastructure for heavy vehicles through regional pilots and Klimatklivet. Charging at home, workplaces, or commercial garages is crucial for many EV owners. The Swedish Energy Agency estimates that 80-95% of EV charging occurs through non-public charging, but some car owners rely entirely on public charging infrastructure.

Outlook

In the passenger car area, there is still a trend that electrification is not going fast enough. This is because electric cars are still more expensive to buy, and the policy instruments are hardly sufficient. However, the expansion of charging infrastructure continues, particularly for heavy-duty vehicles, with significant financial support from the Swedish government. Society is becoming increasingly aware of resilience and robustness issues, which also impact the electrification of the transport sector. For instance, there are concerns about how electric vehicles perform during prolonged road stoppages in snowfall and whether vehicle batteries can power homes during electricity grid outages.