KUALA LUMPUR: A lucrative concession to supply and manage the government's fleet of vehicles which may include Toyota Vellfire, is up for grab now.
Following the end of Spanco Sdn Bhd's 25-year concession last year, the government had asked interested parties to submit request for proposal (RFP), sources said.
So far, the likes of Hertz Malaysia, Avis Malaysia, Naza Group and even Spanco had submitted their RFP, they added.
Hertz Malaysia is operated by Sime Darby Rent A Car Sdn Bhd under licence from global car rental firm Hertz Global Holdings Inc.
Shah Alam-based Avis Malaysia is part of Avis, which is another large car rental company globally.
"This is the third RFP for the concession to manage government fleet of vehicles in the past 25 years or so, two from the previous administration and now under the Pakatan Harapan government," one source said.
Spanco had previously supplied and managed the government fleet, all of which were Proton vehicles, the sources said. This time, the tender was for both national and non-national vehicles.
The government was looking at Proton as well as Honda and Toyota vehicles for use by ministers, deputy ministers, top civil servants as well as its agencies, they said. The vehicles included Toyota Vellfire 2.5, Toyota Altis 1.8 Honda Accord 2.0 and 2.4, Proton Pesona and the X70, which is Proton Holdings Bhd's latest SUV.
The government was looking for the supply of about 1,000 vehicles including some 30 units of the Vellfire and a few hundred Accords this year.
Spanco, which reportedly counts “Casio King” Tan Sri Robert Tan Hua Choon as a shareholder, had the mandate to manage the government’s fleet of cars since1994.
The concession was deemed lucrative as many government departments such as the police force, had thousands of cars.
In 2004, the Ministry of Finance reportedly ordered a review of the Spanco deal as it was believed that the government had overpaid for the services.
Some reports said the contract sum was reduced to RM80 million per annum from RM100 million previously.
In 2017, it was reported that the government was paying a total of RM221.6 million a year to Spanco, to rent a total of 10,963 Proton cars for official use.
Meanwhile, an industry observer felt that the government should continue to only use national cars.
"It should not dictate what models for the fleet. It should just mention specifications and get suppliers to submit their proposal.
“If the government wants to champion green energy, then it should go for EEV (energy efficient vehicle) or electric vehicles," he said.