Nadarajah Sethurupan

After an extremely strong June, just under 6,000 new electric cars hit the road in Norway in July. That may seem low compared to the previous month, but it is a decent result in the traditionally weak holiday month of July.

Obviously, the 14,009 new electric car registrations from June (almost double the figure for May) could not be maintained in July. New registrations across all drive types in Norway drop considerably during the summer holidays. The 5,934 new electric cars in July represent a decline of 116 per cent compared to the previous month. Compared to July 2023 with its 6,148 new electric registrations, however, it is only a decline of 3.5 per cent.

In total, only 6,456 new passenger cars were registered in Norway in July, which is 14.2 per cent fewer than in the same month last year – and less than half of the BEV registrations from June. Although EV registrations are down month-on-month and year-on-year, the 5,934 new electric cars represent an electric share of 91.9 per cent of all new registrations. That is a very good result, as in July 2023 (with slightly higher EV registrations in absolute terms), the share of BEVs was only 81.7 per cent.

In addition, there were just 153 plug-in hybrids in July (-75 per cent compared to July 2023). Part-time electric vehicles thus had a market share of 2.4 per cent, meaning that 94.3 per cent of all new cars in Norway had a charging connection in July. The Norwegian road authority OFV does not report fuel cell cars separately, but they also only account for very small numbers in the Scandinavian eMobility pioneer country.

That also applies – unsurprisingly, given the almost 92 per cent BEV market share – to the other drive types. Of the “non-rechargeable hybrids” (i.e. mild and full hybrids), 160 were put on the road (-64 per cent compared to July 2023), while the number of pure diesel cars was 164, with a market share of 2.5 per cent. The OFV only registered 45 petrol-only cars in July – with a market share of 0.7 per cent.

The model statistics also show that July is a weaker month: no model series achieved four-digit registration figures. The best-selling model was the VW ID.4, with 593 new registrations, followed by the Toyota bZ4X (387) and the Skoda Enyaq (371). The podium is thus all-electric, with two of the three models based on the Volkswagen Group’s MEB platform.

The new Volvo EX30 remains well in the running. With 323 units, it is still the second best-selling model in Norway this year—behind the Tesla Model Y. However, with 157 vehicles sold in July, the Tesla SUV did not have a good month and was even well behind the Model 3 (295 vehicles). The best non-electric vehicle was the Toyota Yaris, with 101 new registrations.

Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace (‘KONGSBERG’) has signed a contract with Avinor to supply Kongsberg Digital Towers to an additional seven airports in Norway.

The installations include sensors and other technical infrastructure that make it possible to remotely operate air traffic tower service from Avinor’s operations center in Bodø in northern Norway.

The seven new airports are: Båtsfjord, Vadsø, Sørkjosen, Sandane, Mosjøen, Ørsta Volda and the new airport in Mo i Rana. These will be operational from 2027. The agreement also includes an eighth airport installation, to the new Bodø Airport, which will be operational in 2029.

The Remote Towers Center in Bodø currently remotely operates 11 towers that are located at airports across Norway. In March 2025, the last towers in the first phase of the Remote Towers (RT) program will be commissioned, making it a total of 15.

– The RT program is a strategically very important program for Avinor. The experiences with remote-controlled operation are very good, and the Avinor board of directors in February decided to expand the RT Program with seven new towers, Avinor wrote in a press release.

In 2015, Avinor entered into an agreement with KONGSBERG to develop remotely controlled tower solutions for the smaller airports in Norway. By 2027, a total of 21 towers are planned to be operational in Avinor’s Remote Tower Center in Bodø.

Norway on Thursday strongly opposed the Israeli-initiated lawsuit against the United Nations Refugee and Works Agency (UNRWA), warning that the accusations against some individuals coincide with “a politically motivated campaign aimed at weakening the agency.”

“We strongly oppose the attack on UNRWA and their staff, including the Norwegian diplomat who previously served as Deputy Commissioner-General of the agency,” Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said in a statement.

Eide’s announcement came after families of Israeli hostages in Gaza filed a lawsuit against the UNRWA in a US federal court in New York on Monday, claiming that the aid agency helped finance Hamas by paying employees in US dollars.

The foreign minister reiterated its support for the aid agency, recalling that UNRWA, mandated by the UN General Assembly, was established to meet the basic needs of Palestinian refugees until a political solution was found.

The UN agency that provides emergency aid, health care, and education to Palestinian refugees, “who have been severely affected by war and conflict for 75 years, is fundamental in our world order based on international law,” he added.

“Norway will continue to stand up for UNRWA and support their work,” Eide said, adding, “UNRWA is the backbone of humanitarian efforts in Gaza.”

UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini accused Tel Aviv earlier this year of having a “long-term political goal” of “destroying” the UN aid agency, as well as the belief that Palestinians are refugees with the right to return home one day, the Swiss newspaper Tages-Anzeiger reported.

“At the moment, we are dealing with an expanded, concentrated Israeli campaign, which is aimed at destroying UNRWA,” said Lazzarini.

Since Israel launched war on Gaza on Oct. 7 more than 37,700 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, most of them women and children, and over 86,400 others injured, according to local health authorities.

Nearly 200 UNRWA staff members have also been killed, according to Norwegian authorities.

Almost nine months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which in its latest ruling has ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its operation in the southern city of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on 6 May.

The Human Rights Research Society in Norway has announced a two-day meeting between members of Afghan civil society, including civil activists and the Taliban representatives.

The session, held in Oslo, the capital of Norway, on Tuesday, May 4, has invited Richard Bennett, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Afghanistan.

The Human Rights Research Society in Norway stated on its “X” page that this meeting will address topics such as the future of the Doha talks, humanitarian aid, increased protection opportunities for at-risk Afghans, and discussions on Richard Bennett’s future report.

Meanwhile, Richard Bennett tweeted that he was inspired by his meeting with Afghan civil activists, particularly women activists.

During this session, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights has also addressed women’s and children’s rights.

Simultaneously, reports indicate that this meeting has faced criticism from other social activists and human rights advocates in Oslo and other European cities. They argue that Taliban representatives should not be given the opportunity to gain recognition, and they are calling for the recognition of gender apartheid in Afghanistan.

While complete details of the participating members of Afghan civil society have not yet been determined, some media outlets have reported that figures like Fatima Gilani, Kavon Kaker, Asila Wardak, Momena Yari, Haris Sighani, Abdulqayum Sajjadi, former parliament representative, former negotiator General Ansari, Engela Ahmadi, Karim Amin, senior member of the Islamic Party, and Qaraman Kakar, Faiz Mohammad Osmani, make up the Afghan civil society.

On the other hand, Najibullah Motmaen, Qazi Saeed Mashk Alam, Matiullah Mohammadi, Jafar Mahdavi, Saleh Mazari, Sayed Younus Agha, Hadi Zaker, and Fayaz Zaland represent the Taliban at this session.