Norwegian city buys 300 Chinese electric buses before making startling discovery while testing them

Oslo just added hundreds of new electric buses to its public transport network.

Built by Chinese manufacturer Yutong, the fleet was meant to help the city hit its clean-energy goals faster.

For a country that prides itself on clean power and cutting-edge tech, it felt like a perfect fit: efficient, quiet, and zero-emission.

Until a round of routine security testing revealed an unexpected discovery.

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The city that bet big on Chinese electric buses

Earlier this year, Oslo’s transport authority Ruter struck a major deal with Chinese automaker Yutong.

Roughly 300 new electric buses would join the city’s fleet as part of Norway’s plan to make all public transport emission-free by 2030.

For Yutong, one of China’s biggest EV producers, it was a milestone moment.

Proof the brand was successfully expanding into European markets.

And through spring and summer, the new e-buses arrived and hit the streets.

Each one promised lower running costs, seamless over-the-air updates, and data-driven performance tracking.

The project quickly became a case study in clean mobility – efficient, connected, and scalable.

But while the rollout grabbed headlines, a quieter process was happening behind closed doors.

Ruter’s engineers ran a set of cybersecurity tests, comparing one European-built electric bus and one Yutong-built model to check for digital vulnerabilities.

And while they found no issues with the hardware, there was one digital weak spot hiding in plain sight.

The startling discovery that turned into a security risk

Investigators discovered the Yutong buses could be accessed remotely from servers in China.

Through that link, the manufacturer could send software updates, monitor diagnostics, or, in theory, shut the buses down entirely.

“The Chinese bus can be stopped, turned off, or receive updates that can destroy the technology it needs to operate,” cybersecurity adviser Arild Tjomsland said.

Norway’s transport minister called the findings a wake-up call, ordering a nationwide review into foreign-built smart infrastructure.

Ruter’s CEO said the company is now working with cybersecurity teams and has removed the buses’ SIM cards so they can operate under full local control.

For Oslo, a clean-energy milestone suddenly looked more complicated.

The buses are still running, but they’ve already changed how the city thinks about ‘smart’ transport.

Because in 2025, keeping a fleet moving isn’t just about charging the batteries.

It’s about knowing who can pull the plug.

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