While some police departments have begun to use electric vehicles recently, the move towards zero-emission vehicles has been sporadic. However, that may be changing in the next few years. Ford recently put the Mustang Mach-E up against the rigorous testing process of the Michigan State Police, and the car passed the evaluation.
The Michigan State Police is one of only two law enforcement agencies that annually test new model year vehicles for police use and publicly announce their findings, something other agencies rely heavily on when choosing vehicles for their own fleets. The vehicles go through tests including acceleration and braking tests, top speed tests, emergency response handling tests and even simulated high speed pursuits, all to assess their aptitude for police work. The full results of these tests will be going up on the Michigan State Police website later in the fall.
Ted Cannis, CEO of Ford Pro, remarked “The fact that the Mustang Mach-E successfully stood up to the grueling Michigan State Police evaluation demonstrates that Ford can build electric vehicles that are capable, tough and reliable enough for even the most challenging jobs. We understand the needs of our commercial customers and are committed to unlocking new electrification opportunities for them.”
Earlier this month, Ford also provided versions of the Mustang Mach-E to UK law enforcement for testing and assessment. It appeared in the Emergency Services Show in Birmingham, England, outfitted in the neon checkered design of UK police. Many individual departments showed interest in further testing on the vehicle, including London’s police force.
Electric vehicles offer a lot of benefits specific to law enforcement use. They reduce costs overall by being cheaper to power up and requiring less maintenance, they are quieter and can function in closed spaces, and they don’t give off the harmful emissions that normal police cruisers would during long periods of idling. With Ford’s history of producing high quality police vehicles and the Mustang Mach-E now becoming the first electric vehicle to pass the Michigan State Police testing, this could be a good sign for electric police cars becoming more common in the future.
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