The Hispano-Suiza offer matched all the requirements, laid out by the German Federal Ministry of Defence and, with an estimated cost of only 170.000 DM, the price per unit was 30% lower than the AMX VTP. In combination with time pressure, generated by the promise to NATO to form and equip 12 West German divisions until 1960, the German Ministry of Defence opted for the Hispano-Suiza model and placed orders for 10,680 AFVs. Dieter H. Kollmar concludes in his analysis of the acquisition process, that it seems reasonable to assume that the company had learned about the requirements in advance and adjusted their offer accordingly. Hispano-Suiza itself did not have the facilities to build an AFV. It had acquired patents for a 20-mm auto cannon and used them in conjunction with its network of business contacts around Europe to finalize the AFV plans. Lobbyists, often recruited from the ranks of former Wehrmacht officers, aggressively solicited for Hispano-Suiza with the decision makers in the Ministry of Defence, who often shared the same background.