L.A. leases (cheap) BMWs for city workers

Most public employees would never dream of driving a BMW — at least on the job

ut that’s what going to be happening in Los Angeles, thanks to a deal to lease 100 of BMW’s small i3 electric cars in a bid to enhance the city’s sustainability efforts.

The Los Angeles Police Department has taken out a threeyear lease on the fleet. It will pay $387 per month per car, including maintenance.

It gets cheaper yet: Because they are electric cars, there will be no gasoline costs, and as part of the deal, a company called Greenlots is supplying chargers.

Even though the leased i3s are BMWs, city and BMW officials went to lengths to dispute that, at least in this case, they would not be considered luxury cars.

“Other car manufacturers competed; they couldn’t beat the price,” said Vartan Yegiyan, director of police transportation for the police department, at a news conference near police headquarters to show off the fleet. “So BMW did do their homework, and they wanted to sell the cars.”

The cars will be driven by detectives and police staff, often for follow-ups to criminal cases. Those workers still expect to get plenty of use from the cars, up to 10,000 miles per car a year. They won’t be used as black-and-white patrol cruisers. And they say they’re hoping to get electricpowered patrol cars in the next few years.

BMW said for the 2017 model year, the i3’s range will be expanded from 85 to 115 miles on a single charge. Company officials are looking forward to the opportunity to partner with the LAPD, to demonstrate the reliability of electric vehicles.