NYPD fleet is nearly halfway to hybrid, but full electric transition faces big hurdles

"The new hybrids will help modernize an aging fleet. About 70% of the NYPD's 8,992 vehicles have passed their five-year life cycle. Hybrid vehicles, which typically operate on electricity at lower speeds and gas at higher speeds, make up about half of the NYPD's fleet. The department currently has fewer than 500 fully electric vehicles, mostly limited to school safety and traffic enforcement duties."

"The new SUVs cost about $79,000 each, including the outfitting needed to make them suitable for patrol. Keith Kerman, deputy commissioner of the Department of Citywide Administrative Services, said the NYPD is ahead of most police departments nationally when it comes to greening its fleet. "The very fact that the NYPD has established hybrid patrol cars as the standard goes well beyond what most police departments in the country are doing," he said. "And the NYPD is testing plug-in models as well.""

"But a lack of adequate charging infrastructure presents the biggest obstacle to fully electrifying the NYPD's fleet. With only 2,400 charging ports for the city government's 5,700 electric vehicles, Kerman said supporting the NYPD's round-the-clock operations would require massive expansion. "To get to a place where the NYPD would be able to fast charge immediately, this large of a police force 24 hours a day, that's going to require enormous additional charging," Kerman said."

The NYPD unveiled 140 new hybrid SUVs to modernize an aging fleet, where about 70% of 8,992 vehicles have passed their five-year life cycle. Hybrid vehicles that run on electricity at lower speeds and gas at higher speeds now make up about half the fleet, while fewer than 500 fully electric vehicles are primarily used for school safety and traffic enforcement. The new SUVs cost about $79,000 each. Charging infrastructure is limited—2,400 ports for 5,700 city EVs—and would require massive expansion to support 24/7 fast charging. Only one pursuit-rated electric model exists, and vehicle performance for pursuits remains a challenge.

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