The Los Angeles Police Department has decided to ramp up its sustainability efforts by making its fleet a bit greener. Mayor Eric Garcetti held a press conference recently, announcing that the city has committed to lease 160 all-electric vehicles and 128 plug-in hybrids, which means that Los Angeles will have the largest city-owned EV fleet in the country.
“Today, we take another step toward becoming the most sustainable city in America,” said Mayor Garcetti. “This year, Los Angeles will become home to the largest city-owned fleet of pure battery electric vehicles anywhere in the country, and we will save taxpayer dollars along the way.”
The Los Angeles Police Department will get 100 of the all-electric cars, which will be used by the department’s administrative employees, detectives and investigators.
“The LAPD is proud to be among the law enforcement agencies leading the way to sustainability with the use of electric vehicles, and reducing our operating costs at the same time,” said LAPD Chief Charlie Beck.
Pilot Project with a Model S and an i3
On top of the 100 pure electric cars leased by the city, the LAPD gets to include a Tesla Model S P85D and a BMW i3 to its fleet. Officials from the department said that these vehicles will be used for testing and research purposes by its technical experts. Both vehicles have been given to the department as loaners, and will be at the department’s disposal over the next twelve months.
Both the Tesla Model S P85D and the BMW i3 have what it takes to be good police cars. The all-wheel-drive Model S seems like the perfect police pursuit vehicle. The dual-motor all-electric sedan boasts a whopping 691 horsepower, allowing it to reach a top speed of 155 mph, with a 3.2-second 0-60-mph time. This means that there are not a lot of cars out there that would have an edge over Tesla’s car in a car chase.
The BMW i3, for its part, is slated to be involved in neighborhood patrols and traffic enforcement, tasks that it is well suited for, given that it’s a compact hatchback that is touted by the German car maker as the ideal city car. It’s also very energy-efficient, with combined fuel economy rated at 124 miles per gallon equivalent.
Having said that, no matter how beneficial the Model S and the BMW i3 could be for the LAPD, the department is not expected to use them on a larger scale anytime soon. This is because they are luxury cars that have very high purchase prices and enormous repair and maintenance costs, so they are not exactly the best option for a city-owned fleet, from a financial point of view.