Police go electric thanks to new supply of cars

A car dealership in Bristol has recently supplied two 100% electric Nissan Leafs to Avon and Somerset Constabulary.

Wessex Garages on Hayes Way at Cribbs Causeway has provided the two vehicles to the police for general purpose use around the city.

The Sunderland-built, electric Nissan Leaf is also cheaper to run on a per-mile basis than petrol/diesel and as all-electric vehicles have less moving parts than their petrol or diesel counterparts they will need less frequent servicing too.

Hannah Watts, Sustainability Manager at Avon and Somerset Constabulary, said: “Trying to reduce the impact we have on the environment is important to Avon and Somerset police, so we’re working hard to cut the amount of fuel our cars use where we can.

“Policing is much more than responding to 999 calls and there’s definitely a place for electric vehicles in our fleet. We’ve already trialled a Nissan Leaf with one of our neighbourhood teams in Bristol and the feedback from officers was really positive.

“It makes absolute sense to permanently swap two regular general purpose vehicles, which do lots of journeys within the city boundary on a daily basis, for electric.”

Wessex Garages has outlets in Bristol, Cardiff, Gloucester and Newport. It specialises in new and used car sales across South Wales and the South West.