The General Inspectorate of the Romanian Police (IGPR) will buy 600 BMWs to replace the Dacia Logan cars currently in use under a controversial procedure that resulted in only one bidder meeting the requirements.

Under a tricky specification, IGPR said in the tender book that the cars should have automatic gearboxes with at least 8+1 gears besides a minimum power of 130 kW, petrol engines with a torque of min. 290 Nm, permanent 4×4 all-wheel drive (AWD) and body type AA.

Those who drafted the specifications missed adding specific equipment for a Police car, like lights and sound devices, the Europol trade union representatives noted, commenting about the controversial procedure. The only brand that "falls" on these specifications is BMW, they concluded after browsing the local car dealerships for weeks, Europa Libera Romania reported.

The contracted price for a special vehicle is RON 163,343 (EUR 33,200), without VAT. The first batch of 100 cars is expected to be delivered to the Romanian Police in June 2023 at the latest.

Automobile Bavaria is the official BMW importer in Romania, and it is managed by German citizens Leonhard Georg Pfeffer and Michael Schmidt Horst - a close associate of President Klaus Iohannis, according to G4media.ro.

Automobile Bavaria claims that the procedure was perfectly normal and Audi, as well as Alfa Romeo, also have models with 8+1 automatic gearboxes.

andrei@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Dreamstime.com)