Chinese Rental Volvos Recorded Norwegian Military Exercise

Norwegian soldiers continued using rental cars during a military exercise after discovering the vehicles had recorded their movements and the security codes entered at military gates, according to DN.

The recordings emerged during September’s Exercise Hovedstad, which involved preparations to protect Oslo Airport in wartime.

A shortage of alternative vehicles meant the cars remained in service, including on military grounds, according to Dagens Næringsliv.

DN linked the vehicles, rented through Hertz, to China’s Geely group via Volvo Cars, whose Norwegian rental business Hertz operates.

One source identified at least two of the vehicles as Chinese Deepal cars.

Gate Codes Captured

Lieutenant Fredrik Blanck, who participated in the exercise, said personnel discovered the videos while browsing a vehicle’s settings.

They had neither requested the recording function nor been told about it.

The footage showed people entering and leaving vehicles, pickup locations, routes, and how long soldiers stayed at different sites. It also captured personnel entering codes at military gates.

“In some cases, we use key cards in combination with codes to pass through gates. This was stored in video recordings,” Blanck said.

Two other sources familiar with the incident corroborated his account to DN. One said the Deepal vehicles had made extensive recordings, including footage of soldiers entering gate codes.

Blanck said his unit received no instructions on how to use the recording functions in its own vehicles.

With few alternatives available, withdrawing the cars would have substantially reduced its ability to train.

Questions Over Data Access

Personnel deleted recordings from the vehicles they could access after the exercise.

They could not establish whether footage existed in other cars or what would happen to the data afterward.

“We don’t know where this ends up. Whether it is only stored locally or what happens to the data when the exercise is over,” Blanck said.

He warned that the combined footage could reveal deployment locations, patrol patterns, access routes, equipment and supply depots, giving an outside actor a detailed picture of military operations.

He also raised concerns about vehicle microphones during sensitive conversations.

The unit's responsible personnel reportedly escalated the findings through a report.

Military Defends Existing Controls

Norway’s armed forces declined to answer DN’s specific questions about the recordings or the decision to continue using the vehicles.

Spokesperson Caroline E. Lysne said the military recognized the risks associated with vehicles and other electronic equipment.

It did not currently consider a blanket ban on vehicles from particular countries appropriate.

“Such a ban would provide limited security gains compared with the practical disadvantages for the armed forces, employees and suppliers,” she said.

Lysne said units maintained physical and electronic protections against the collection of sensitive information.

Volvo Cars rejected the suggestion that its ownership posed a security risk, saying data could not be shared with Geely without a clear legal basis.

First Rent a Car Norway said it followed Norwegian and European law.