The way has been opened for ministers to receive their new BMW 528i's or optional Citroen C5s before the holidays, after the Jerusalem District Court yesterday dismissed a motion by Audi, Volkswagen and Skoda importer Champion Motors Ltd. for a temporary injunction against the tender for the new ministers' cars. The company alleged that the key clauses in the tender, including the minimum horsepower of the cars, were retroactively changed, which prevented it from participating in the tender.
Judge David Mintz ruled, "After reading the petition and the (State's) response, I reached the opinion that there is no place to issue an injunction. Although Appendix 10 of the Tender states that the minimum horsepower of the cars will be 200 horsepower and is a threshold condition of the tender, there was nothing to prevent the petitioner from buying the tender documents and participating in it. There are also sufficient grounds for believing that the petitioner was aware of the change in the condition, or at least could have learned without difficulty under the circumstances of the case. Therefore, in view of the fact that a winner has already been declared, which has already changed its condition for the worse on one hand, and the delay, even theoretical, that the legal challenge would cause on the other hand, the motion is dismissed."
Champion Motors is considering appealing the decision. However, vehicle industry sources believe that the Ministry of Finance will sign a contract within weeks with BMW importer Delek Automotive Systems Ltd. (TASE: DLEA) and Citroen importer David Lubinski Ltd., with the goal of delivering the new cars to ministers before Rosh Hashana (Jewish New Year).
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on August 15, 2012
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