More Police Departments Are Getting EVs

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While consumer demand for hybrid and electric vehicles is rising steadily – from 12.9% of new car sales in 2022 to 16.3% in 2023 – EVs still account for just about 1% of all registered light-duty vehicles on U.S. roads. In the S-curve model of technology adoption, the EV market is still attempting to cross the “chasm” separating the early adopter enthusiast from the average consumer who just wants a better car.

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One group slowly adopting EV technology, however, may be a strong bellwether for the average consumer looking for low cost and high performance: U.S. police departments.

In July 2024, the South Pasadena Police Department became the nation’s first law enforcement agency to completely replace its gasoline-powered fleet with electric vehicles. The department’s new fleet consists of 10 Model Y patrol vehicles and 10 Model 3 administrative vehicles. The Anaheim Police Department in California added six Teslas to its fleet in April 2024, while public records reveal that the nearby Irvine Police Department recently purchased a new Cybertruck. Large cities like New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago have incorporated electric cruisers into their fleets, and many smaller departments have EVs in use or on order.

Among the range-anxious, electric police vehicles may spark fears of tedious charging pit stops in the midst of high-speed pursuit. However, EVs make practical sense for most police use cases. Although police require high-horsepower vehicles for pursuit and patrol, police cars spend most of their operating time at zero miles per hour.

A lot of police time is spent parked in cars with the engine running – monitoring traffic, writing reports, or waiting to receive a call. In one study, researchers found that police cruisers spend 60% of their operating time idling. The same study found that 21% of all police fuel is used while the car is idling.

With most of their time spent idling, EVs offer a huge cost-saving alternative to gas-guzzling police cruisers. And with improvements in EV speed and acceleration – like the Mustang Mach-E SUV, the first all-electric vehicle to pass the Michigan State Police vehicle evaluation – many electric models have pursuit capability on par with or exceeding traditional gasoline models. Other police EVs – like the 2024 Chevy Blazer EV Police Pursuit Vehicle – have been marketed for their quiet electric motors and stealth capabilities.