Government BMW fleet in a class of its own

ANDREW GORRIE/Dominion Post

MINISTER MOBILES: Twelve of the Government's new three-litre diesel-engined BMW 730 Ld limousines have been delivered in the past few weeks.

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The Government's new fleet of luxury BMW limos has been officially wheeled out - and the first official passenger is Singapore president Sellapan Ramanathan Nathan.

Mr Nathan, in New Zealand on an official visit till April 30, was picked up at Wellington airport yesterday by one of the titanium silver Beamers, marking the introduction of the new limo fleet.

Twelve of the three-litre diesel-engined BMW 730 Ld limousines have been delivered in the past few weeks and, till now, they have been used only for driver training and the odd VIP run.

The Internal Affairs Department, which ordered 34 of the limos to replace an ageing fleet of Ford Fairlanes, is refusing to say how much it paid for the cars.

The limos will be distinctive, not only because of their Crown number plates, but because they will be the only BMWs of that particular model in New Zealand.

BMW corporate sales manager Neil Ready said other cars in the model 7-series range sold at up to $300,000, but they had additional features. The model supplied for the VIP fleet would probably sell for about $170,000, he said, but ministers would have to do without sunroofs, fridges, liquor cabinets or televisions in the back of the cars.

BMW's tender is reported to be $90,000 for each car but there is no official confirmation of that.

Internal Affairs spokesman Allen Whaley insisted the tender process and contract was confidential. Asked what made this different from other government contracts where costs are reported, he said there were many other examples where prices were not disclosed and "the department is not budging".

It was a "very good deal with a very good service deal as well". The package as a whole was excellent, he said.

Climate Change Minister David Parker defended the BMWs when the purchase was announced last year, saying they used eight litres of fuel per 100 kilometres - two litres less than the Fairlanes.