The New Zealand Herald

Thin blue line enlists Skoda Superb

- — Sophie Trigger

It’s the end of an era for New Zealand police, with Holden fleet vehicles being replaced with the Skoda Superb this year.

A fitted-out police car, the first of 3000 new vehicles available through the contract, was revealed by Commission­er Andrew Coster in Wellington yesterday.

“For frontline staff, their vehicles are their primary place of work,” he said.

“The Skoda Superb provides a safer, more comfortabl­e environmen­t for them while being value for money and reducing our carbon emissions across the fleet.”

Last year, Holden announced it would pull out of Australia and New Zealand, after supplying New Zealand’s police cars for decades.

New Zealand police went to market for a new fleet supplier, with the Skoda chosen in November as one of seven companies tendering.

Coster said the vehicles were tested against rigorous criteria, such as radio interferen­ce, brake testing, emissions and performanc­e.

The 2000 primary response vehicles in the police fleet would be replaced when they reached the end of their life, with the first 100 by the end of June. The next 386 would be rolled out by the end of the year.

 ?? Photo / Mark Mitchell ?? Commission­er Andrew Coster shows off one of the Skoda Superb fleet vehicles.
Photo / Mark Mitchell Commission­er Andrew Coster shows off one of the Skoda Superb fleet vehicles.
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