The British Ministry of Defence is close to a decision on awarding a contract for the replacement of a fleet of military trucks, a German newspaper reported on Sunday.
German truck maker MAN AG has a good chance of winning the contract, worth up to three billion pounds (4.5 billion euros), Germany's Handelsblatt newspaper said in an article released in advance of publication on Monday.
Mercedes-Benz and the US companies Oshkosh and Stewart & Stevenson are also in the bidding for the contract, the paper said.
A spokesman for MAN declined to comment on the story, but said that the negotiations for the contract have continued for some time.
The spokesman added that MAN had previously said it was confident of winning the contract.
A British Ministry of Defence spokesman said the newspaper report appeared to refer to ministry plans for gradually replacing a fleet of utility trucks that currently numbers around 9,000 vehicles. The planned cost is "in excess of 500 million pounds ($896 million)," he said.
"We are currently in discussions with industry and have been for the past 12 months or so," the spokesman said. "The requirements have not been set and won't be until next year."