The French central purchasing authority UGAP (l'Union des groupements d'achats publics) has issued a call for tenders for the grouped purchase of approximately 50,000 electric vehicles, announced earlier by Jean-Louis Borloo, Minister for Ecology, Energy, Sustainable Development and Marine Affairs; and Christian Estrosi, Minister of Industry.
UGAP is coordinating the grouping of orders for 20 public and private stakeholders, including, in addition to itself, ADP, Air France, Areva, Bouygues, EDF, ERDF, Eiffage, Orange France Telecom, GDF Suez, GRT Gaz, GrDF, La Poste, RATP, SAUR, SNCF, SPIE, Suez Environment, Vinci and Veolia. Three types of vehicles are being sought:
* A light commercial van with a load capacity of about 3 m3;
* A two-seater compact van with a load capacity of approximately 1 m3; and
* A passenger car with four or five seats.
The vehicles must be able to reach 110 km/h (68 mph) with maximum paylod, and have a range of at least 150 km (93 miles) at the end of the warrantied battery life. One option is a recovery of 50 km (31 miles) of range after a 15-minute charge.
Vehicles must have an on-board charger and 5m cable, and support being connected to a standard electrical network ( 230 A/50 V/16 Hz single phase). Charge time must be less than 8 hours.
UGAP is calling the initial tender process a "competitive dialogue"; i.e., an exchange with each candidate on all aspects of the project. The purpose of the dialogue focuses on identifying and defining the means to best meet the needs of the group: the technology, the economic arrangements, after-sales services, and so on.
At the end of this phase of discussion, on the basis of proposals made, applicants will have to establish their final offer. Candidates will then deliver samples of each vehicle for testing.
UGAP estimates a total value for the project of about €1 billion (US$1.3 billion) over four years.
Source: Green Car Congress