The fleet will be used for non-emergency or pursuit duties, such as visiting the victims of crime to take statements, and are supported by a network of 13 charging points across Sheffield, Barnsley, Rotherham and Doncaster.

It follows a single-vehicle trial in Sheffield earlier this year, and South Yorkshire Police are predicting a 105,570kg reduction in CO2 emissions across the ten cars, with the option to keep them on fleet longer than the planned four year lifecycle.

Sarah Gilding, head of vehicle fleet management for South Yorkshire Police, said: ‘Over the coming years parts of our fleet will need to be replaced, and it could be that vehicles such as this could form an important part of our day-to-day activities. The vehicles will offer significant whole-life savings and environmental benefits and we believe they can fulfil a key role in 21st Century policing.’

Police and Crime Commissioner Alan Billings added: ‘The ever increasing government cuts to funding are a continued threat to policing within South Yorkshire. This innovative approach to the vehicle fleet has given us a chance to make a genuine saving that can be used to ensure that front-line policing does not suffer at the hands of austerity.’