Norsk Industri bought a monster pickup for Lier-Hansen for 1.9 million – E24

The former director gets to drive a company car with 700 horsepower until the summer. – Part of my final agreement, he says.

“Madness on four wheels”. This is how TV 2’s program Broom described the car model Stein Lier-Hansen still owns, until he formally leaves Norsk Industri at the end of June.

According to the manufacturer, the Dodge Ram 1500 TRX is “the world’s most powerful series-produced pickup”, with a V8 engine and 702 horsepower. According to Broom, the three-tonne “wild animal” goes from 0 to 100 kilometers per hour in 4.6 seconds, and uses “at least 2 liters per mile”.

– Lier-Hansen is formally employed by Norsk Industri until 30 June. As managing director, he has had a car arrangement through Norsk Industri and thus disposes of this car until then, writes communications manager at Norsk Industri, Cathrine W. Eidal, in an e-mail to E24.

– The car must be returned, or possibly bought out, at the time of resignation, writes Eidal.

Lier-Hansen resigned as director of Norsk Industri in December 2023, after the board discovered what they themselves called “disloyalty” and “unacceptable spending”.

Approved by the chairman

According to Norsk Industri, they paid NOK 1,949,000, including VAT, for the pickup. Chairman Ståle Kyllingstad approved the purchase.

The vehicle was registered at Norsk Industri in September 2021, after being imported from Germany.

– Lier-Hansen had for many years had a car arrangement in its agreement, since before Ståle Kyllingstad took over as chairman. Kyllingstad approved that he changed the car, writes Eidal.

Lier-Hansen confirms to E24 that he still uses the car.

– I cannot answer questions about the car arrangement itself, because it is part of my final agreement, which is subject to confidentiality. I am not going to break my duty of confidentiality, it is important to me. Norsk Industri will have to answer that, says Lier-Hansen.

– Do you intend to buy out the car when you formally resign?

– I have no comment on that now.

Lier-Hansen now works for the environmental foundation Bellona.

– I have several dogs

– Why did you need such a powerful and expensive car?

– I have several dogs and do a lot of outdoor activities. And there aren’t that many cars that can satisfy such a need, says Lier-Hansen.

He explains that the size of the car was important because the dogs must stay safely in cages.

– The engine is not that important, but you must be able to place the dogs in a safe way.

– Has it been practical in connection with hunting?

– No, it has been used for everything, like a normal company car. The reason I chose such a large one was so that it would work well with dogs. It’s not just hunting and fishing, but ski trips and in general. I have also driven a lot at work, says Lier-Hansen.

– It is a very safe car. You are safe if you were to run over a moose one night in Østerdalen, he says.

– There are better cars

– There is a pretty insane performance on that car. What can you say about it?

– It is a large car with plenty of space on green signs. There is only room for two passengers. That means you have plenty of space behind the seats, plus on the loading platform itself. It is a practical car for someone who needs to carry a lot of equipment. It’s a bit of a special car, that’s for sure. But there are better cars than that, so to speak.

– It is referred to as “the world’s most powerful series-produced pickup”? Norsk Industri says it costs over NOK 1.9 million?

– I do not remember. I think that Norsk Industri must answer all the questions about why it was bought and why it was good that it became a company car. It is not a car that I have bought without having it approved. You cannot get a company car in Norsk Industri without it being approved in advance.

– There is nothing special about it, but there is something about the slightly childish Americans, where Ford will be bigger than Dodge, and then Dodge will be bigger than Ford, and this never ends, says Lier-Hansen.

Bought a trailer

Norsk Industri is also registered as the owner of a trailer. According to communications manager Eidal, Lier-Hansen bought the trailer before Christmas, but it has not yet been re-registered.

– This will be done as soon as possible, writes Eidal.

– For many years, Norsk Industri has had a trailer that all employees have been able to borrow. This has been announced on the intranet. As the demand among the employees has not been very high, Norsk Industri chose to sell this to Stein Lier-Hansen when he asked about it.

Lier-Hansen confirms that he bought the trailer, which is manufactured by Norwegian Respo.

– I bought that trailer. Either right before or right after Christmas, I can’t quite remember. All employees had access to that trailer and could use it if needed, it was an arrangement for many years. It was part of the offer to the employees, says Lier-Hansen.

Acting Director drives Outlander

Norsk Industri also owns a Mitsubishi Outlander from 2017.

The Mitsubishi is managed by Knut Sunde, who has been acting director after Lier-Hansen left, until the new director Harald Solberg takes over. Sunde is also director of industry and industrial policy at Norsk Industri.

The plug-in hybrid is in a much lower price range than Lier-Hansen’s Dodge. A used Outlander from 2017 is typically sold on Finn for between NOK 200,000 and 300,000.

Not part of “unacceptable spending”

According to Eidal, the costs for the Dodge are not part of the NOK 10.7 million Lier-Hansen spent on “relational activities” related to hunting and fishing, according to Norsk Industri.

Lier-Hansen rented, among other things, two hunting grounds on and near Hardangervidda for several years, on behalf of Norsk Industri. He has explained to E24 that he has used hunting for networking and lobbying with contacts from home and abroad.

In connection with Lier-Hansen stepping down as director, he and Norsk Industri entered into a final agreement in which the severance pay was halved to around NOK 1.5 million.

Ever since E24 revealed the case in February, Lier-Hansen has maintained that the expenses for hunting and fishing were approved by the administration, and well known in Norwegian Industry.

As E24 has previously written, Lier-Hansen also took payments to his own account from a cabin neighbor, for seaplane trips that Norsk Industri paid for. Lier-Hansen has not answered E24 about what he did with the money he received into his own account.

After the case broke in the media, both Lier-Hansen and Norsk Industri contacted Økokrim. Økokrim is investigating the case and has charged Lier-Hansen with gross financial infidelity against Norsk Industri.

– I am open to the fact that I have done things for which I must be responsible. That is why I wanted Økokrim to take the case, so that my legal security is safeguarded, even if it means that I have to take a beating, Lier-Hansen stated during a session at the Skup conference in Tønsberg on Friday 12 April.