TÜV Rheinland has signed an agreement to acquire Bilprovningen, one of the leading companies for vehicle inspections in Sweden. Bilprovningen (Swedish for vehicle inspection) is a state-owned company that is expected to become part of TÜV Rheinland by mid-December 2024, subject to final approval by the Swedish authorities. The company offers vehicle inspections with 109 inspection centers and around 600 employees throughout Sweden and generated revenues of more than EUR 80 million in 2023. Bilprovningen is headquartered in Sundbyberg, near Stockholm. In addition to vehicle inspections, the company also provides a broad range of testing and inspection services for heavy machinery and equipment for the automative, agriculture, construction and energy sectors with more than 60 employees through the recently acquired SMP Svensk Maskinprovning AB. Additionally, there is a laboratory for safety testing of machinery located in the city of Umeå.

TÜV Rheinland enters Scandinavian vehicle inspection market

“The acquisition of Bilprovningen is an important milestone in the global growth strategy of TÜV Rheinland. We will be able to offer vehicle inspection, one of our core services, in Scandinavia for the first time. Together with the Bilprovningen team, we look forward to continuing to provide our customers in Sweden with excellent service – and to contributing to road safety in Sweden with our vehicle inspections,” says Michael Fübi, CEO of TÜV Rheinland, about the acquisition.

The acquisition significantly strengthens the global vehicle inspection business of TÜV Rheinland. To date, experts of TÜV Rheinland inspect more than 10 million vehicles per year in Germany, Chile, China, France, Latvia and Spain. The acquisition of Bilprovningen adds approximately 1.7 million vehicle inspections per year. By also taking on activities in the machinery inspection business, TÜV Rheinland is active in this sector in Sweden for the first time, thereby expanding the Industrial Services & Cybersecurity business offering in the Scandinavian country.

In total, Sweden registers approximately 6.3 million vehicle inspections annually. Similar to Germany, regular technical inspections of vehicles are mandatory. For new cars, the first inspection is required after 36 months, the second after a further 24 months and subsequent inspections every 14 months.