Contracts with the automakers lapse in October, and Department of General Administration spokesman Steve Valandra said Thursday that GA ordinarily would be looking to renew at this time of year.
“GA at this time is planning no extension to contracts for GM or Chrysler products until we see how their production plans pan out,” Valandra wrote in an e-mail in response to questions. He added in an interview, “We don’t know what they’re going to do … whether they will have vehicles available that the state would be interested in.”
Separate from the automakers’ troubles, state government vehicle purchases are down 60 percent this year. That’s the result of flagging state finances and a purchasing freeze imposed by the governor and, later, the Legislature.
The freeze does allow exceptions. That accounts for the activity by state agencies and the motor pool, which GA operates.
At the same time, local governments continue to buy vehicles, and Valandra said it is mostly police departments buying Ford Crown Victorias, Dodge Chargers and Chevy Impalas under the state’s contracts with carmakers. He estimated that 80 percent are Ford Crown Victoria models.
Valandra also noted that GA has seen no contract defaults and that the agency hopes U.S. automakers remain in business “because the competition is better for pricing overall.”
The state’s many agencies have about 15,000 vehicles; 1,800 of those are in the shared motor pool fleet. Half of that motor pool fleet is made up of hybrid cars, the result of a several-years-long effort to buy more fuel-efficient cars.
Of the hybrids, half are Honda Civics or Toyota Priuses and the other half are Ford Escape sport utility vehicles.
Brad Shannon: 360-753-1688
bshannon@theolympian.com
www.theolympian.com/politicsblog
