Apost-holden puzzle for cops
Police will have to drive their way out of a tough jam now Holden has been pulled from the Australasian market.
The marque has been a reliable brand for the force , withstanding the level of performance and durability demanded of a vehicle for frontline officers.
Nothing compared with the Holden Commodore or Ford Falcon, said Chris Cahill, president of the
New Zealand Police Association, and the removal of both from the market was not anticipated.
Earlier this month General Motors announced Holden would ‘‘retire’’ from New Zealand and Australia by 2021. Ford did the same in 2016.
General Motors promises to uphold all warranties, guarantees and free scheduled servicing offers while providing services and spare parts for at least 10 years.
Cahill said it was important for police to have ample boot space for equipment, and leg and head room for a variety of offenders and officers using a patrol car. ‘‘The Falcon and the Commodore were the only two cars that could stand up to the 24-7 frontline driving that the cars require.
‘‘Reliability is incredibly important and Ford and Holden have been able to deliver it.
‘‘In the past they tried some Toyotas, but they didn’t withstand the internal robustness.’’
Police have been using Holden since late 1960, with a brief dip into the Ford market in the 1970s and 80s, before returning to the lion brand.
There were 2866 Holden vehicles in the police fleet, making up 88 per cent of vehicles in their possession, police said. ‘‘Police are... currently in discussions on future options as the contract with Holden is part of the all-of-government vehicles contract. It will take time to work through and consider these options.’’
Cahill was doubly disappointed with the announcement because the association had only just managed to secure partitions between offenders and police in existing vehicles.
He had been advocating for the divider for years. Holden’s exit would mean it was back to the drawing board.
Due to vehicle sharing from shift to shift, patrol cars need to be able to run around the clock without breaks, which means hybrid or electric vehicles are not an option.
Overseas, the Dodge Challenger was widely used as a patrol vehicle and there were still European makes that could be phased in. But, it would need to be a good servicing deal to make it financially viable, Cahill said.