16 | VEHICLES


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Greener, meaner and more cost-effective fleets – all with reduced budgets. Is there a light at the end of the tunnel?


A new home, a new ‘feel’ – and new challenges ahead for emergency services fleets nationwide; little wonder the recent National Association of Police Fleet Managers (NAPFM) annual conference was one of the most interesting I’ve ever attended.


‘When the going gets tough, the tough get going’ – I simply can’t think of anything more apt to summarise the many challenges lying ahead for emergency services fleet managers in the light of the drastic cuts on their budgets that’ll shape the way future 999 fleets are run.


That those eye-watering cutbacks will have an affect on all areas of fleet management is a given – and it’ll be interesting to see how the resilience, ingenuity and nascent ‘thinking outside the box’ mentality will surface to ensure that frontline services are affected as little as possible. Yet despite the impending gloom – I remember one fleet manager telling me in 2008 that it would take two years at least before the economic slowdown would affect his fleet in 2010/11 – many delegates at the show were putting on a brave face.


Praise for new venue


The NAPFM event is now at its third new venue in 10 years; after outgrowing Devizes, then finding Wroughton and Cheltenham not the most suitable sites, the event’s new home – the East of England Showground near Peterborough – was praised by many. It’s much more compact, easy to reach and blessed with excellent facilities.


Fleet managers are under tremendous pressure to run greener, meaner and more cost effective fleets – all with reduced budgets. Is there a light at the end of the tunnel? Well, a ‘critical mass’ is building as the work of an increasing number of manufacturers comes to fruition; coming soon will be a new generation of electric cars and exciting developments with traditional petrol and diesel power. All this was against a backdrop of the new NAPFM/NPIA vehicle agreements announced in late October. Now that the winners and losers have been announced (see page 13) the future of vehicle procurement has now been settled – until the next review of course.


The manufacturers


BMW took pride of place in the atrium where its cars and bikes made for an impressive display. The first police liveried 5 was on show – its debut was during the Papal visit – while the most attention grabbing car there was a concept ‘Interceptor’ 3 series now doing the rounds as a competitor to the Mitsubishi Evo. Andrew Buxton from BMW was tight-lipped about its power plant but it’s rumoured to be the hard charging 330D that’s drawn rave reviews from the motoring press. A section of ‘X’ models including the new 1, 3 and 5 were also on display, some in armoured specification, while BMW is now building its R1200RT-P patrol bike as a turnkey product.


Ford has made large strides with its product range in the last two years. Its Fiesta is a consistent best seller, a new Focus is imminent, its revised Mondeo has recently been introduced and the Transit and Transit Connect ranges continue to set the pace in the LCV market. Highlights on its large stand were the turnkey Fiesta and Focus and a concept ‘one box’ Mondeo.


The Honda stand showcased the latest models from its impressive car and bike ranges. The CRV is still a popular choice with paramedic fleets while its new hybrid/electric sports car is not just a flight of fancy; watch this space for how Honda will develop the electric car over the next few years. From 0-400 in the last five years! It’s an impressive track record, and Hyundai has earned its stripes with numerous police fleets thanks to the hard work of Gavin Thompson and his team. Thompson, ex-police and government sales manager for the defunct MG Rover group has, since late 2005, spearheaded Hyundai’s sales to 999 fleets; mainstay of police sales has been the i30 range in Comfort diesel spec which comes as a hatch or estate.


Spectacular rise


The rise of Jaguar has been nothing short of spectacular since Tata took over Britain’s premier luxury car manufacturer. The new XF diesel has been a deserving hit with police fleet managers, with numerous cars now on duty with the Central Motorway Police Group. Its new XJ diesel – touted


for senior officers only – is priced from around £59,000; it’ll be a brave police authority which signs on the dotted line but poring over the display model at the show, you can see the XJ’s allure. Along with Jaguar, Land Rover has also seen resurgence in the last two years with product led recovery very much a reason for its growth. The new Discovery has taken the mantle of the bigger and more expensive Range Rover, while the Defender is still flying the flag for the UK in a multiplicity of frontline applications worldwide; the AA is buying another six for specialised duties when disaster strikes.


Welcome return? They’re back! Mercedes Benz is to re-enter the UK police market in a small way via its E class range aimed at high profile road policing work. Its decision to pull out of the market six years ago was lamented by many; let’s see if its return is just as welcome.


Mitsubishi is now the leading supplier of Japanese built vehicles for 999 fleets in the UK. With Lexus, Mazda, Suzuki and Toyota all absent from this year’s show, the firm can only go from strength to strength with vehicles like the Outlander and much cleaner 2011 Shogun. Meanwhile, its diminutive iMiEV shows how quickly electric cars are developing for mainstream policing in city centre roles.


No big news from Nissan for 2010. It’s been concentrating its efforts in renewing its passenger


Emergency Services Times November 2010


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