The New Zealand army’s new $NZ93 million fleet of Pinzgauer light operational vehicles is idle because of gearbox problems, according to the Dominion Post newspaper.
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The paper said the 321 six-wheel-drive vehicles are of a type used by European armies for decades.
The country’s ministry of defence reportedly has dismissed the latest problems as “expected” warranty issues.
“As expected there are some warranty issues and these are being attended to by the manufacturer,” spokesman Warren Inkster told the Dominion Post, which added that the ministry would not say whether it was withholding payments to the vehicles’ manufacturer, UK-based Automotive Technik.
The paper said it was understood 17 of the first 90 vehicles delivered to the army have had trouble with oil overheating in their gearboxes and several vehicles’ transmissions have “cooked”.
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By GlobalDataThe Dominion Post said the Pinzgauer order was placed last year when the New Zealand government signed a contract with Automotive Technik for 321 to replace the army’s obsolete Land Rover fleet.
The petrol V8-powered Land Rover fleet was delivered in the mid-1980s.
The Dominion Post said that, though the Austrian-designed Pinzgauer has been in service with European armies for decades, they have been produced by their present British maker for only four years.
It is understood the New Zealand vehicles have a new gearbox, the paper added.
But the manufacturer denied this.
In a statement sent to just-auto, Automotive Technik said: “The gearboxes in the New Zealand vehicles are the same which have been used in the Pinzgauer since 1986. It is, therefore a very mature system and no problems have existed previously. This specific fault is a warranty issue and is being dealt with as such.
“The Pinzgauer fleet of vehicles has been operating very successfully with the New Zealand Defence Force since it entered service in June 2004.
“A warranty problem was discovered in a small batch of vehicles and, to protect the remaining fleet during the period of investigation, the Army decided to limit the use of the vehicles until the cause had been identified.
“This precautionary approach was to avoid any more vehicles developing a problem before identification of the fault had been made – and a solution provided. Therefore the fleet was not idle – and is available for use.
“Relating to the numbers involved, it is a late batch of vehicles that have exhibited a problem – which has not been seen on earlier vehicles.
“Automotive Technik has provided support direct from its New Zealand office and additional support of engineers from the UK, to investigate the situation.
“Automotive Technik has a solution in place to resolve the issue as quickly as possible. This is in process of being tested and will be applied to the vehicles immediately.”
The Dominion Post said the gearbox problem is just the latest hitch in a long and fraught project since it first recived government approval in 1999.
The ministry, responsible for buying defence equipment, reportedly accused the army of trying to skew the process by putting up a list of specifications to ensure it got United States-made Humvees.
According to the Dominion Post, an initial tender round failed when all three short-listed vehicles were rejected.
The manufacturer of Humvees, AM General, reportedly has filed a complaint with New Zealand’s Office of the Ombudsmen that it was strung along during the process merely to maintain competition.
The paper said the army has been enthusiastic about the Pinzgauers.
Only slightly larger than the Land Rover, they have twice the carrying capacity, are easier to drive and have excellent off-road performance, the Dominion Post added.
