Info Numerama. Mandelieu police officers will now drive Tesla Model 3. The vehicles had been seen on a truck heading towards the south of France: Numerama obtained confirmation from the town hall of the Mediterranean town in the Alpes-Maritimes that the vehicles were for her .
Photos appeared on social networks and got the specialized press talking: we saw Tesla Model 3s in the colors of the French municipal police, on a truck transporting them to the south of France. We now know where they landed: it was the Municipal Police of Mandelieu, in the Alpes-Maritimes, which received the four latest generation Tesla Model 3s, as the city confirmed to Numerama. These are obviously standard models, compatible with the city's budget.
Contacted by Numerama, Pierre Boutillon, director of Public Security, details this choice: “ A Municipal Police car works 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. First of all, we have an ecological reason, we needed to reduce our emissions. There is also an economic reason: we are on €650 of fuel per month and per vehicle. Adopting electric vehicles will allow us to reduce this amount by 10 “. For municipal police cars, which have roughly the same uses as taxis, reliability is also important: “ Our use is mainly urban and this has a huge impact on the particle filters and the clutch.. We had very significant costs. Last year, we paid the equivalent of a new car for repairs. »
On the recharging side, the Municipal Police has already studied the question: as it is rare for the cars to all be in service at the same time, Pierre Boutillon is banking on “ slow recharges to preserve the battery. » A way of optimizing the component which will, according to him, maximize the lifespan of vehicles. Today, thermal police cars have a lifespan of 5 years: “ we hope to keep these Teslas longer », assures the director.
Same story at the town hall, with a bonus disappointment on the French builders' side
On the town hall's communications department side, the same elements are cited to justify this choice: remaining at the cutting edge of technology and controlling the carbon footprint of its police force. All with an economic vision of reducing long-term spending: “ The use of these latest generation vehicles for urban patrols brings a gain in terms of field efficiency and drastically reduces the energy cost for the community. Over the year, the estimated reduction is around 89.5%. In addition, the particularly high mechanical costs of thermal vehicles, for highly demanded engines, will be eliminated. », We can read in the press release.
Why didn't Mandelieu-La Napoule call on a French manufacturer? The city says it “ notes that the French manufacturers did not consider it useful to respond to this Call for Tenders », implying that no competitor has seen fit to meet the needs of the police. Unlike Tesla, therefore, whom she hails as a “ major economic player established in its territory “. She welcomes the commitment of Tesla, “a major economic player based in its territory. »
To the wise.
