Nine Audi A8L armored vehicles are to begin their service to president-elect Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and her entourage starting on her inauguration on May 20, people with knowledge of the matter said.
Volkswagen (VW) Taiwan outbid BMW’s Taiwan franchise in a National Security Bureau (NSB) procurement tender to replace the BMW 740Li — the current presidential vehicle — with the Audi A8L, they said.
The NSB procurement aimed to purchase nine five-seater armored security vehicles for the five-car presidential motorcade and the four-vehicle vice presidential motorcade, with nine Audi A8L cars to be used as presidential sedans offered at NT$31.09 million (US$923,923), according to an NSB budget plan.
The cars are scheduled to be delivered by mid-April after the NSB awarded the bid to VW Taiwan, the people said.
The BMW 740Li has served as presidential vehicles for the past 12 years, since 2004 during the second term of then-president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁).
All models that VW Taiwan and BMW’s Taiwan franchise offered for the bid met NSB security requirements, while the tender was done publicly and the contract was awarded to the lowest bidder, with VW Taiwan securing the bid with a “fairly favorable price,” they said.
The presidential motorcade, comprising the presidential vehicle, a backup car and security vehicles, would be made of the same models with identical looks, sources said, adding that to ensure the safety of president, the vehicle to be customized as the presidential car would undergo special modifications, such as bulletproofing and having armor plates.
The government commissioned Cadillac vehicles for presidential use during the tenure of former presidents Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) and Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國), whereas Cadillac and Mercedes cars were used as presidential vehicles during terms of former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝), said a retired official, who asked not to be named.
An elongated Lincoln limousine was used as the presidential sedan in Chen’s first term, and the BMW 740Li and the Ford E350 armored van were used alternatively in his second term, while the BMW 740Li served as the official state car throughout Ma’s two terms, the retired official said.
A sport utility vehicle from Land Rover’s Discovery series was commissioned to ferry presidential candidates during campaigning for the presidential and legislative elections earlier this month.
Besides ensuring the safety of the president, presidential cars are often considered a symbol of a nation’s automobile industry, so nations often adopt domestically manufactured cars as state vehicles, such as the Citroen DS5 used by French President Francois Hollande, the Toyota Camry hybrid used by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the Hongqi L5 used by Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平).
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has been known for her penchant for Audi vehicles and she doubled as an Audi product endorser to unveil the company’s new models to promote the German automobile industry, while an Audi A8L armored model is used as Germany’s official state car.
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