The push for electrification continues, as more police departments in Canada seek to adopt electric vehicles.
The latest example comes from the City of Repentigny, an off-island suburb of Montréal, Qué. The city and its police department (SPVR) recently completed a nine-month pilot project testing the use of a Ford Mach-E electric patrol car.
“For almost a year, all eyes have been on the SPVR, awaiting the results of our initiative to electrify a fleet of patrol cars. We can now confirm that we will continue to electrify our fleet of police cars,” said Repentigny Mayor Nicolas Dufour in a statement.
He added that other analyses will be carried out in the coming months “to properly assess our needs based on new technologies developed since 2019.”
The project launched in 2019 and was inspired by a desire to reduce the city’s greenhouse gases. The SPVR and Quebec-based Cyberkar put into service a modified patrol car in 2022. The vehicle, which was the result of several months of research, development, analysis and construction, was adapted for emergency response work.
The testing phase involved collecting data on the vehicle’s general, in-practice use, including how efficient the battery was during several police interventions — “in a variety of conditions and during continuous use.”
“Of course, the pilot project had its share of challenges, necessitating various adjustments and corrections along the way,” said Jean-Claude Roch, the chief inspector in charge of the pilot project, in a statement. But, as he noted, the project achieved positive results.
The City of Repentigny also mentioned in its news release that the battery was sufficient for SPVR needs, but that they would require a dedicated fast charging station to cover “all the needs of general policing.”
