There’s been some exciting environmental action out of Luxembourg, with the small European country recently adding two Tesla electric cars to their fleet.
The boys in blue are hoping that the rapid acceleration capacity in the Tesla’s might help them in catching criminals and speed offenders while also helping to lower the country’s carbon emissions.
The purchase of the two Tesla Model S cars – which can accelerate from 0 to 60 miles per hour (97 kmph) in seconds – is part of a pilot project to move some 10 per cent of the cars on Luxembourg’s roads towards electric and hybrid vehicles, the Grand Duchy’s transport minister said.
“Police cannot use a 2CV on the motorway, they need a car that can move fast,” Francois Bausch told state broadcaster RTL.
Perhaps one concern affecting the viability of electric vehicles is the continued need for recharging, but it is thought that the small geographic proximity of Luxembourg will make it less of an issue given the country only measures around 100km from north to south.
“Our patrols are 200 kilometres per outing. We can easily see that the battery life as it is does not pose any problems,” said Laurent Lentz, deputy commander of Luxembourg’s highway police.
But early reports have remained tight-lipped over whether Luxembourg will buy more Tesla cars to their fleet lineup. The specially equipped Model S vehicles set back the police around 100,000 euros ($116,450) according to local media, though police have declined to confirm that figure.
