NCT Contract Up For Tender
NCT (National Car Test) contract worth €650 million up for grabs for ten years from 2020 to 2030
The company which operates the test at the moment is Applus. Last year they made profits €6.5 million in profit last year, down 20% from 2016. The National Car Test contract is worth €650 million to the successful bidder.
The Road Safety Authority introduced the NCT back in 2000 with the specific purpose to bring Irish roadworthiness standards in line with the European Union best practice.
Now the RSA has put the NCT contract out to tender for interested bidders. Applus was granted a six-month extension to their contract in July so interested bidders on the contract will need to get their skates on. There was no reason given for the extension though. The contract was due to expire in December 2019 but with the extension, the contract will end in June 2020.
The NCT contract was last renewed in 2009 when three companies submitted bids. This time around there will be a maximum of five bidders is allowed.
The tender covers both the NCT itself, applicable to all cars over four years old, and import and export conformance inspection services (related to the payment of Vehicle Registration Tax on individual vehicles) on behalf of the Revenue Commissioners.
Applus NCT operates 47 purpose-built centres nationwide. In 2017, 1,355,560 vehicles were tested in Ireland, with a further 447,000 undergoing paid retests. Each test currently costs €55, with a re-test rate of €35. The statistic shows that 51% of vehicles which went through the NCT last year failed the test.
The successful bidder will at first take over just four of the 47 test centres. These centres are currently held on a leasehold by Applus, so when the next company comes takes over the contract, they will have the option to take over the remaining 43 centres at ‘an agreed market value’, per the tender.
Applus recorded a decrease in operating profits last year, down 20% from €8,138,464 to €6,504,429. Revenue fell by 6% to €77.8 million, down from €83.2 million.
In 2017 the NCT test Centres employed 814 people, the vast majority of which (747) were in the sales and operations side of the business.
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