Gloucestershire Constabulary is preparing to welcome 75 new fully-electric vehicles to its fleet over the coming weeks, giving it a larger percentage of fully-electric vehicles in its fleet than any other police service in the UK.

The electric vehicles will make up 21% of Gloucestershire’s entire fleet, and will contain both cars and vans from the manufacturer Nissan. The move is part of a commitment by Gloucestershire’s Police and Crime Commissioner, Martin Surl to ‘A Green and Pleasant County’, ensuring that Gloucestershire Constabulary operates in a way which is as responsible and sustainable as possible.

None of the vehicles will be used as response vehicles, the majority will be used by local investigation teams to help to deliver a savings of almost 190 tonnes of CO2 per year. Eleven of the vehicles will be fully marked up as traditional police cars with ‘zero emission’ labelling, and will help to save money too, with estimated savings of more than £138,000 per year as a result of decreased fuel costs and savings to servicing, in comparison to diesel vehicles.

Gloucestershire’s Police and Crime Commissioner, Martin Surl said: “The purchase of these new vehicles is a huge step forward for the Constabulary to reduce its carbon and pollution, and meets part of my commitment to ‘A Green and Pleasant County’ that was outlined in my Police and Crime Plan. It’s a journey we’ve been on for five years and is part of a long-term commitment by my office to ensure our environment is considered at every opportunity.

“The new fleet will save a considerable amount of CO2 and money, giving Gloucestershire a larger percentage of fully-electric vehicles in its fleet than any other police service. I hope the constabulary will be able to build on this great work, and extend its electric fleet to 40% within the next four years.”