Municipalities to join green car procurement

Local authorities have the possibility to join Finland’s largest joint procurement of cars powered by electricity and natural gas.

The goal of the joint procurement by the Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE) and KL-Kuntahankinnat Oy is to raise the proportion of green cars on Finnish roads by increasing the number of cars powered by electricity and natural gas significantly, said a SYKE press release.

“We have initially surveyed the interest felt by local authorities, and the survey indicates that the demand for a more climate-friendly alternative exists. Even cautious estimates suggest that a joint procurement could bring 100 electric cars and 100 biogas cars to Finland. The value of the procurement could rise as high as 10 million euros. The procurement would also work as a powerful signal to other players for reducing emissions,” said Pasi Tainio, an engineer at SYKE.

The procurement will take place in stages. Marketing of the procurement and getting commitments from the municipalities has already begun this year. In the spring of 2018, a technical dialogue for the procurement will take place and the project will be put out to tender. The vehicles will be delivered to the municipalities in late 2018.

The aim of the joint procurement is to get as many orders as possible, leading to savings in the cost of the procurement. The procurement involves both cars and vans.

The joint procurement eases the work of local authorities, as Kuntahankinnat will collectively tender out the vehicles themselves and the terms of their delivery. The vehicles can be acquired through the municipalities’ own financing or the products of various financial institutions can be used. For instance, Municipal Finance (MuniFin) is currently offering a zero margin for the financing of electric cars.

If possible, it is hoped that an easy and inexpensive way can be found to include charging points at locations where vehicles are usually parked when they are not in use.

The project is being funded by Sitra, the Finnish Innovation Fund, and is connected with a broader low-carbon circular economy accelerator project where SYKE and MuniFin subsidiary Inspira are promoting low-carbon circular economy solutions, especially in the municipal sector. The joint procurement supports the goals of the Finnish government to have 250,000 electric cars in Finland by 2030.