TÜV SÜD Prepares to Begin Auto Inspection Activities in Turkey

MUNICH, Germany and ISTANBUL, Turkey, May 10, 2005 -- The TÜV SÜD Group will soon begin conducting German-style auto inspections in Turkey. Following an international tendering process, the Turkish Ministry of Finance awarded a 20-year contract for the project to Munich-based TÜV SÜD along with its partners, the Turkish conglomerate DOGUS Group and the AKFEN construction company. The contracts are to be signed in Ankara within a matter of days, subject to clarification of several outstanding matters, including the project's exclusivity and financing modalities. The TÜV SÜD, DOGUS and AKFEN consortium, in which each partner holds a one-third share, will be conducting its auto inspection activities under the aegis of a newly formed company TÜV TURK AG, which is slated to have approximately 190 service centers in operation throughout Turkey by the end of this year, and will also be constructing and outfitting 38 mobile inspection units.

The TÜV stations will conduct auto inspections and exhaust tests and will mainly be operated by franchises. This privatization of auto inspections will result in the creation of 3,000 new jobs in Turkey. The consortium's investment in the Turkish TÜV is expected to total approximately EUR568 million, EUR423 million of which will be expended on franchise and license acquisitions.

"This is the largest project in the history of TÜV SÜD," commented company CEO Dr. Peter Hupfer, who also noted that the project represents a major step toward the internationalization of TÜV SÜD, which currently operates auto inspection and exhaust gas testing stations in Austria, France and Spain. TÜV SÜD is the German market leader in this area, with approximately 4.4 million annual inspections.