Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) has announced that it will be launching hybrid police vehicles designed for high-speed pursuits.
The automotive giant already had a partnership with police departments around the country in order to get these officers from point A to point B. However, these were not designed to take part in high-speed pursuits.
Ford has reacted with new hybrid cars that come equipped with an EPA-estimated 38 miles per gallon. The Ford Police Responder Hybrid Sedan is in line to become the first pursuit-rated hybrid police vehicle that the U.S. will have seen.
The Ford Police Responder will be tested in the coming fall by the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department, as well as the Michigan State Police. Both agencies are tasked with rate pursuit vehicles around the U.S.
The automotive company did plenty of testing at home, convincing it that it will pass these tests. The car will be available this spring, and Ford believes that the move will save $3,900 in annual fuel savings per car compared to your average police car.
The fuel economy that the vehicle comes from is nearly twice as good as the non-hybrid Ford Police Interceptor. Police cars spend 60% of the time being idle, and the new hybrid cars don’t waste a lot of gas while being idle.
