The Los Angeles Police Department has big plans that involve some little cars. As part of its sustainability efforts, the department has leased 100 small i3 electric BMWs for use by its staff and detectives.
For a three-year term, the LAPD will pay $387 per month per car — a deal made even sweeter by how much it will save on gas prices — and the cars should get up to 115 miles on one charge. Both city officials and BMW employees were sure to emphasize that the little cars are not luxury vehicles, USA Today reports.
“Other car manufacturers competed, they couldn’t beat the price,” said Vartan Yegiyan, director of police transportation Vartan Yegiyan. “So BMW did do their homework and they wanted to sell the cars.”
The cars are intended for follow-up work, as opposed to responding to calls or taking in suspects. The cars will also send data directly to the LAPD, which will also be able to monitor the vehicles’ performance.
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Write to Julia Zorthian at julia.zorthian@time.com