Consip's Off-Road Vehicle Lot Draws Zero Bids in National Vehicle Purchasing Convention

Standfirst

Consip, Italy's central purchasing body, sought suppliers for 300 off-road vehicles as part of an 11-lot national vehicle purchasing framework worth up to 359 million euros. The off-road vehicle lot, estimated at 33.6 million euros, received no tenders at all and closed without an award.

Introduction

Italian public administrations, from local police forces to civil protection agencies, rely on Consip's national purchasing conventions to buy vehicles without running their own separate tenders. When a specific vehicle category in one of these conventions fails to attract any supplier interest, that category of vehicle simply becomes unavailable through this route.

That is what has happened with the off-road vehicle lot in Consip's latest vehicle purchasing framework.

Why This Contract Matters

This lot was intended to supply 300 off-road vehicles to Italian public administrations under a national framework agreement. Its failure to attract even a single tender leaves a specific vehicle category unavailable through this convention, a gap that public bodies needing this kind of vehicle will need to address through other means in the meantime.

Contract Timeline

The notice recording this outcome was dispatched on 7 September 2026 and published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 8 September 2026, under OJ S issue 173/2026.

Contract Overview

Consip S.p.A. ran this as an open procedure under Directive 2014/24/EU and Italy's national procurement code, Legislative Decree 36/2023, for a framework agreement for the purchase of vehicles and connected optional services for public administrations, structured across 11 lots under internal identifier ID 2896. The classification is CPV code 34110000, Passenger cars, with a secondary classification of 50112200, Car maintenance services.

The overall procedure carried an estimated value of 358,996,125.00 EUR excluding VAT, with an overall framework ceiling of 5,950 vehicles across all 11 lots. This notice covers Lot 11 specifically, titled "Fuoristrada" (off-road vehicles), covering 300 units with an estimated value of 33,628,125.00 EUR. No tenders, requests to participate or projects were received for this lot, and it was closed with no winner chosen.

Key Contract Details

Project Scope

The overall framework covers vehicle purchases with connected and optional services for public administrations, with predetermined quotas allocated to each winning supplier depending on the ranking position they achieve. The base auction price, which bidders cannot exceed on penalty of exclusion, was set at 239,330,750.00 EUR excluding VAT across the procedure, subject to discount, with separate base prices defined for each vehicle model, optional equipment components, and the maintenance service. Estimated lot values include the maximum allowance for the "quinto d'obbligo", a mechanism under Italian law allowing contract value to increase by up to one fifth, plus an additional permitted overrun of up to 25 percent of each lot's ceiling.

About the Contracting Authority

Consip S.p.A.

Consip S.p.A. is a body governed by public law with general public services as its classified activity, based in Rome. It is Italy's central purchasing body, running framework conventions that public administrations across the country use instead of tendering separately for common goods and services, including vehicle fleets of this kind.

About the Organisations Involved

No supplier organisation is recorded as a winner in this notice, since no tenders were received for this specific lot.

Tribunale Amministrativo Regionale per il Lazio, Roma

This is the Regional Administrative Court for Lazio, based in Rome, named as the review organisation for this procurement. Appeals may be lodged before this court within 30 days of publication in Italy's National Public Contracts Database.

Procurement Analysis

This lot received zero tenders despite being part of a broader 11-lot framework covering vehicle types under CPV codes for both conventional passenger cars and electric vehicles. The complete absence of bidder interest specifically in the off-road vehicle category, while the notice does not confirm outcomes for the other 10 lots, suggests either a pricing ceiling that did not align with what off-road vehicle suppliers were prepared to offer, or limited market appetite for this specific vehicle category under the terms set.

Additional Procurement Facts

The lot is not financed with EU funds and is covered by the Government Procurement Agreement. Subcontracting is permitted under terms specified in the tender specifications. Bidders were required to produce provisional and definitive guarantees under Italian procurement law, along with an insurance policy, and the entire procedure was run through the national telematic platform, acquistinretepa.it.

Market and Industry Perspective

Off-road vehicles represent a specialised segment of the automotive market, often used by public administrations for civil protection, forestry, agricultural inspection or rural policing roles. A zero bid outcome in this specific category may reflect a narrower pool of manufacturers and dealers able to meet the technical specification and pricing ceiling set for this lot compared with the more commonly available standard passenger car categories.

Economic Significance

At an estimated 33.6 million euros for 300 vehicles, this represents a meaningful gap in Italy's public sector vehicle procurement pipeline for this specific vehicle category, leaving public administrations needing off-road vehicles without this particular sourcing route for now.

Future Procurement Opportunities

Consip will likely need to revise and relaunch this specific lot, potentially adjusting the base price or technical specifications to attract genuine supplier interest. Vehicle manufacturers and dealers specialising in off-road and 4x4 vehicles should watch for any relaunched version of this lot.

Opportunities for Suppliers

The complete absence of competing bids represents a genuine, currently uncontested opportunity for any qualified off-road vehicle supplier willing to engage with Consip on terms that would attract participation in a future relaunch of this specific lot.

What Businesses Should Watch

Vehicle manufacturers and dealers, particularly those specialising in off-road and specialist vehicles, should watch closely for any announcement relaunching this lot, and should monitor how the other 10 lots within this same framework performed for broader context on market interest in this Consip convention.

ItalyTenders.com Procurement Intelligence

This notice is a useful, narrower example of how even a single lot within an otherwise large and well subscribed national purchasing framework can fail to attract any market interest, leaving a specific vehicle category unavailable through this route while the rest of the framework may proceed normally.

Its significance lies in what it suggests about the specific commercial terms set for off-road vehicles within this convention. A pricing ceiling or specification that works for standard passenger cars and electric vehicles elsewhere in the same framework did not translate successfully to this more specialised vehicle category, a pattern worth understanding before Consip attempts a relaunch.

Supplier Takeaways

• This specific lot, covering 300 off-road vehicles, received zero tenders and remains unawarded
• Award criteria were based on lowest price, with a fixed base auction ceiling bidders could not exceed
• This represents a genuine, currently uncontested opportunity for off-road vehicle suppliers
• The broader 11-lot framework covers both conventional and electric vehicle categories, suggesting the zero bid outcome may be specific to this lot's terms rather than a framework-wide issue

Key Takeaways

• Consip's off-road vehicle lot, part of an 11-lot national vehicle purchasing framework, received no tenders and closed without an award
• The lot covered 300 vehicles with an estimated value of 33,628,125.00 EUR
• The overall framework covers 5,950 vehicles across all lots, with a total estimated value of 358,996,125.00 EUR
• Award criteria were based on lowest price
• Consip will likely need to relaunch this specific lot to secure a supplier

Conclusion

This notice records a narrow but instructive procurement gap: one specific vehicle category within an otherwise substantial national purchasing framework failed to attract any supplier interest at all. For public administrations needing off-road vehicles, and for suppliers in this specialised segment, the outcome points to a clear opening once Consip determines how to relaunch this specific lot successfully.

Source: Tenders Electronic Daily (TED), Contract Award Notice 618100 2026, Official Journal of the European Union, OJ S issue 173/2026, published on 08/09/2026.