The Škoda Group and Škoda Transtech have expressed their disappointment regarding recent reports of the allegedly excessive price of the winning bid submitted by Stadler in the Helsinki tram tender, aimed at expanding the tram fleet in Helsinki and Vantaa—a city located in the immediate vicinity of the Finnish capital.
The Board of Directors of Helsinki Region Transport (HSL—the capital’s transport authority) has been informed of the need to increase the budget allocated for this project. According to public data, Stadler’s bid exceeds the budget approved by HSL by approximately 22% (+EUR 60 million) and is about 25% (+EUR 66 million) higher than the bid submitted by Škoda in 2025.
The Helsinki Metropolitan Area Transport Authority justifies this cost increase by citing general price trends in recent years, including the impact of the war in Ukraine and recent geopolitical conflicts. However, Škoda Transtech argues that these factors should have already been factored into the budget estimates made earlier, in 2023.
The company states that its bid for the Helsinki tram tender was fully in line with the budget approved by HSL in 2025, indicating that an increase in funding would not have been necessary for the procurement of technologically equivalent vehicles intended for urban transport in Helsinki.
Cost Differences in the Helsinki Tram Tender
“Our bid meets the budget of EUR 271 million and the technical requirements, while Stadler’s bid amounts to EUR 331 million—25% higher, or EUR 66 million above our level. We are convinced that our trams have competitive operating costs and would generate significant savings for the public budget,” said Petr Novotný, CEO of the Škoda Group.
Škoda Group and Škoda Transtech announced that they will continue their proceedings before the Supreme Administrative Court, including a request for an interim injunction to prevent the signing of the contract with Stadler in the Helsinki tram tender, citing possible procedural irregularities and errors in the evaluation process.
The company emphasizes that, in European Union practice, public procurement procedures are often reviewed or even canceled when the winning bid significantly exceeds the estimated budget, to ensure the efficient use of public funds and to avoid overpricing of urban transport contracts.
Recently, Škoda Transtech announced that it would challenge certain aspects of the Finnish Commercial Court’s ruling, which confirmed its exclusion from the procurement procedure for the delivery of new trams to the city of Helsinki. According to the company, the decision is based on a misinterpretation of the technical component of the submitted bid.
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