A new consignment of electric vehicles from Nissan means one in five vehicles (21%) at Gloucestershire Constabulary are now fully electric; and it’s planning to ramp this up to 40% by 2024.

One in five vehicles on the force’s fleet is now fully electric

The latest 75-strong vehicle delivery includes 66 Nissan Leafs, of which 11 will be marked vehicles, and nine e-NV200s. It’s estimated that they’ll save £136k a year in fuel and maintenance.

The vehicles join the existing Nissan Leafs on the fleet, first deployed in 2016 with the first-gen model, and means Gloucestershire will have a larger percentage of fully electric vehicles in its fleet than any other force. Their deployment forms part of a five-year sustainability plan from Gloucestershire’s police and crime commissioner Martin Surl, who is looking to expand the electric vehicle roll-out to cover 40% of the fleet within the next four years.

Head of transport services for Gloucestershire Constabulary Steve Imm said: “We conducted a big fleet review of what we could replace with EVs, which led us to the figure of 21%. In two years we’ve managed that, and in four years we’re looking to make it around 40% if the technology allows it and it’s a viable option.”

To enable their use, 44 additional charge points have been fitted around various police buildings in Gloucestershire including at Compass House, Prism House and Holland House.

The 7kW chargers are being used to charge the vehicles overnight, enabling the Nissan Leaf e+ to travel up to 239 miles on one charge, while the e-NV200 is capable of up to 187 miles.

Steve Imm continued: “There are lots of departments in the police that are either policed by staff members or the CID for example. They’re not working 24/7, they’re working core hours across shift patterns, and they’re driving an average of 70 miles a day so we know that 180 miles will do what we need them to do.”

As well as the money and emissions savings, the force is also benefiting from reduced off-the-road time, as the electric vehicles require less servicing than combustion-engined equivalents.

“In our history of the Nissan Leafs, on the 16-plates, we’ve only changed one set of brake pads. Because of the regenerative braking you don’t use brake pads or brake discs as much,” Imm added. “We’re cutting down huge amounts of labour time and off-the-road time, which improves our internal efficiency and means the police force has the vehicles on the road more.”

Nissan Motor GB fleet director Peter McDonald said: “We are really excited to be working with progressive organisations in their pursuit of net zero. We are working with a number of organisations piloting major initiatives in the corporate and public sector space, and are really excited to announce this partnership with the Gloucester Police Force.

“Through their pioneering work Gloucestershire are showing how EVs can be used in all kinds of practical applications, and how with some initiative blue light fleets are able to play an active role in decarbonisation. We applaud Gloucester Police Forces and are proud to be working with them.”