Police reveal trial electric patrol car
WELLINGTON: The police have revealed their new electric patrol car to be trialled on the frontline.
Police vehicles make up 20% of the government’s light vehicle fleet and the move is part of a wider trial to cut emissions by 176 tonnes annually.
Police Commissioner Andrew Coster along with manager for the police fleet service group Brian Yanko revealed the BMW i4 as the chosen vehicle, with a price tag starting at $109,990 each.
He was quick to stress the vehicles were not chosen for their branding but because they met crucial criteria.
‘‘We have some particular requirements around range, around the ability for the vehicle to take the kit that we have to carry around, the core performance of the vehicle.
‘‘So when we were looking for the most suitable vehicle, the BMW i4 was where we landed.’’
At a purchase cost of $1.7 million, five cars will be trialled by officers on road patrols over the next six months.
They will start in Counties Manukau before moving on to Central Districts, Christchurch and Dunedin, testing different terrain and weather conditions.
One charge lasts 590km, with the average police shift covering up to 500km.
As part of the trial, chargers at stations will be installed but public chargers may also be used.
As much as 120kg of equipment such as a firearms safe, lights and sirens, as well as passengers, and highspeed driving put a strain on battery life.
Mr Yanko said that was something they would be closely monitoring.
‘‘We can sometimes see even in our petrol fleet . . . a reduction in performance of around 27%.
‘‘It is larger within the EV, but we need to get a better understanding of what that degradation looks like.’’
Things such as headroom for potential arrests were also considered when making the decision.
With recent extreme weather events that left many areas without power, having EV cars ready to go 24/7 in the future could mean looking at other options like alternative fuel, Mr Yanko said.
‘‘The infrastructure requirements for us to run a resilient electric fleet would be very significant. So there’s a lot of questions still to be answered.’’ — RNZ