The New South Wales Highway Patrol unit has added an electric BMW iX xDrive40 Sport to its fleet.
Photos posted on a Facebook page show a brand-new 2023 BMW iX wrapped in a Highway Patrol stickers.
“Traffic and Highway Patrol Command continuously review operational needs and assets used by officers in their daily duties,” a spokesperson for the NSW Police Force told CarExpert.
“In a partnership between Transport for NSW and the NSW Police Force, an electric vehicle is being evaluated to determine its capabilities and operational use.”
“The vehicle has limited operational use at this time and will be used for community engagement and testing purposes.”
The Highway Patrol line-up is already fairly heavily reliant on BMW with a range of BMW 530d sedans currently employed by the unit.
This isn’t the first electric vehicle for the NSW Police force, with the Crime Prevention Unit taking delivery of a Hyundai Kona electric in 2021.
The BMW iX xDrive40 Sport is powered by a dual-motor all-wheel drive setup with 240kW of power and 630Nm of torque. The drivetrain is coupled with a 77kWh battery pack.
The all-electric vehicle has a claimed 0-100km/h in 6.1 seconds.
Australian police forces are making an effort to reduce emissions, with Victoria Police employing a Tesla Model X in 2019.
WA Police last year added an electric Hyundai Ioniq 5 while Queensland Police will add 45 examples of the MG HS +EV over the next two years.
BMW has a stronghold on the NSW and Victorian police force vehicle fleet with the latter also adding the BMW M3 competition to its Highway Patrol fleet in 2021.
The line-up within the NSW Police fleet includes the BMW 5 series, Kia Sorento, Chrysler 300, and Volkswagen Passat, among others.
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