The UK police have been testing Tesla cars to electrify more of their fleet and the results so far are promising, according to a Tesla spokesman.
Early results show “great results” in terms of the suitability of the company’s Model 3 vehicle for emergency services, said Max Toozs-Hobson, director of emergency services at Tesla.
He told the Guardian that the average blue light drive in the UK was seven to 15 minutes, but when the Model 3 was actively used in advanced driving conditions, it could take part in drives that lasted four hours and said it was “achievable”. Ride the advanced over 200 miles of blue light [Model 3]”.
Positive results could lead to more Tesla Model 3s being adopted by the UK police, paramedics and fire departments.
The process began earlier this year when the electric car maker offered the UK Police a customized and painted version of its Model 3. The test comes as UK police try to invest in more electric cars before the government bans new diesel and gasoline motorized vehicles in 2030.
Tesla made a number of adjustments to the car, but according to Toozs-Hobson, the systems didn’t affect the car’s range. The three-hour automatic license plate recognition would take the car less than a few kilometers, he said, and the LED lights could run for days without a battery.
The charging system was successful. Toozs-Hobson said he “joined a traffic unit that got into the car with only 80 miles of range. We stopped at a V3 compressor and gained 70% power in less than 20 minutes. This gave us another 5-6 hours of driving for the shift. Plus, this refueling costs less than £ 20 “.
However, the study results were not all positive. Toozs-Hobson criticized the light bars found on rescue vehicles, saying that they were like “running with a parachute”. He suggested integrating police lights into the car cabin, similar to many unmarked police cars, which he believed would reduce the drag and depreciation of the car caused by drilling holes in vehicle roofs.
The Tesla Model 3 Performance, the type of vehicle believed to have been used in these trials, is more expensive than non-electric or high-performance hybrid equivalents. A Tesla Model 3 Performance starts at £ 59,990, while a BMW 3 Series Sedan costs almost half at £ 33,250. However, high acquisition costs can also go hand in hand with lower operating costs, which reduces the overall costs of the vehicle over its service life.
Toozs-Hobson said the public response to Tesla’s active units has been “overwhelming” and the company will continue to work with police ahead of the internal combustion engine ban in 2030.
A government spokesman said: “Over the next few years, the police force across England and Wales will play an important role in helping the government achieve the zero carbon goal through the policing decarbonization program”. He added that “some armed forces have already made significant progress in decarbonising their fleets”.
