CARLSBAD — The city has agreed to purchase 40 new police vehicles with conventional gasoline engines after a prominent American automaker cited manufacturing constraints and delays related to production of its hybrid model.
The council adopted the resolution 4-1 during its March 14 meeting, with Councilwoman Teresa Acosta voting against the proposal.
The city has been using Ford Motor Company’s Police Interceptor Utility hybrid vehicles since 2020, tracking more than 1.4 million miles and saving 65,000 gallons of fuel, or $77,000 per year.
The Michigan-based auto giant informed the city on Feb. 22 that its purchase order of 40 Police Interceptor Utility hybrid vehicles would likely not be fulfilled due to production issues at its Chicago plant. Bradley Northup, the city’s superintendent of public works, said the city modified its order from hybrids to conventional gasoline engines based on Ford’s recommendation.
Six hybrid vehicles were ordered as replacements, and the remaining 34 vehicles were part of the Carlsbad Police Department’s newly-implemented take-home vehicle program.
“We placed the order with Ford Motor Company, but the company is recommending its customers modify orders,” Northup said. “There are delays from all manufacturers who take factory orders for police vehicles.”
Hybrid and electric vehicles are approximately 20% more expensive than conventional gasoline cars. Raw material costs (nickel, cobalt, lithium) more than doubled during the coronavirus pandemic, leading to recent price increases.
In addition, production delays will likely increase costs for Ford’s 2024 Police Interceptor Utility hybrid models. If the city opted to wait for Ford to fulfill its entire order of hybrid vehicles, “vehicle deliveries would be delayed and possibly even canceled for the 2023 model year orders,” according to a staff report. Delays would likely impact police call responses and “increase maintenance downtime for the city’s fleet.”
Conventional vehicles cost about $2,500 less than the contracted price for the hybrids, totaling $100,000 in upfront savings to purchase the 40 patrol cars, with no fuel savings over time.
In December, Carlsbad police requested an additional $313,675 to cover vehicle cost increases, and the city approved $2.4 million for the department’s 2022-23 operating budget to purchase 34 vehicles.
Asst. Police Chief Christie Calderwood said the department must secure new vehicles, even if they use gasoline, to replace aging and damaged cars, meet operational readiness requirements and maintain employee retention goals.
The police department is also launching its Take Home Vehicle program, allowing officers to take their department-issued vehicles home to mobilize faster, remain in the field longer and better respond to calls for service, all of which fall under Quality of Life and Safety goals in the city’s Strategic Plan.
The program is also viewed as a recruitment and retention tool, helping the department’s effort to retain more officers for more extended periods of employment.
“One of my priorities and roles is to ensure that all of our employees have the resources and equipment to maintain operational readiness,” Calderwood said, noting the department wants to meet the city’s climate goals, but outside forces have pushed them in a different direction. “In this case, it’s our patrol vehicles.”
A handful of automobile companies manufacture police vehicles (Dodge, Chevrolet), but only Ford offers a fuel-efficient hybrid model. The Police Interceptor Utility, a law enforcement version of the Ford Explorer, is the only “pursuit-rated” hybrid police utility on the market, meaning it’s better equipped for high-speed driving and hard braking.
Acosta voted against purchasing combustion engine vehicles, which she said does not align with the city’s Climate Action Plan and sustainability goals outlined in the five-year Strategic Plan.
“I’m the only one who is that committed to making sure that we have this transition right now,” Acosta said. “As an environmentalist, I can’t support this. I didn’t hear a ‘no’ from Ford, and there may be a chance the order could be filled.”
According to the staff report, the new fleet of conventional gasoline engine vehicles will increase the city’s annual greenhouse gas emissions by 123 metric tons. Each traditional gasoline patrol car consumes approximately 2,776 more gallons of fuel than a hybrid model. The city is expected to consume 111,040 more gallons of fuel for the entire fleet during the vehicles’ expected eight-year lifespans.
While the staff report acknowledged a new fleet of conventional patrol cars would reduce the city’s number of electric or hybrid vehicles, the report also said the purchase of gasoline vehicles doesn’t violate the city’s vehicle acquisition policy since the cars were not readily available to purchase.
“The Fleet Services Division shall purchase the lowest emission, and most energy and fuel-efficient vehicles when such vehicles are economical, readily available and such a selection of lower emission vehicle (LEV) does not affect the performance, safety or intended function of a vehicle’s goals or mission,”
