Ford has put on hold its decision to scrap more than 400 second-hand electric cars in California after green groups besieged its local Oslo headquarters and the Norwegian government called for the cars to be sold.
The Th!nk cars, made in Norway until Ford abandoned the project two years ago, must be dismantled or removed from the US under an agreement with American regulators.
But Ford turned down several offers from Norwegian companies to buy and refurbish the cars, fearing that they may damage the Ford brand if left on the road.
The company is now reconsidering after realising that it had misjudged the level of support for electric cars, at least in Norway. Like other carmakers Ford concluded that battery-powered cars had no future in the mass market because of their high cost and limited capabilities a range of just 53 miles in the case of the Th!nk City car.
Timothy O'Brien, vice-president of corporate relations at Ford, said the "high level of interest" from Norway had prompted a rethink, with a decision due in a few weeks.
Last week Greenpeace activists occupied the roof of Ford's Norwegian headquarters to protest against the scrapping, while other protest actions included a blockade of the entrance by electric vehicles and the smashing of a Ford car on the steps of one of the company's showrooms.
The Norwegian government wrote to Ford in May asking to discuss the matter, but had no reply until this week. However, a day after the protest a meeting was arranged in Oslo between Torild Skogsholm, the country's minister for transport, and two of Ford's European executives.
Ms Skogsholm said the matter would not be closed until the cars were running on Norwegian roads.
"It is meaningless to scrap more than 400 fully operational and environmentally friendly cars," she said.