Ford Introduces Hybrid Sedan For Public Service Employees

Automaker Ford has unveiled a plug-in hybrid vehicle which has a capacity to travel approximately 21 miles on one charge. The hybrid sedan is aimed at fire chiefs, detectives, police and other public service employees. To charge the sedan, which is expected to be shipped in summer next year, all that is required is a traditional wall outlet.

The hybrid sedan has an on-board charger of 3.3 kilowatts which can fully charge a battery of 7.6 kilowatt capacity in approximately 150 minutes using a level-two charger of 240 volts. With a lithium-ion battery the top speed of the car is 85 mph. In the event that the battery is drained, the gasoline-electric hybrid can do another 500 miles owing to its high efficiency.

Regular police car

Additionally the sedan is equipped with criminal deterrent features in its interior which are optional. This includes surveillance-strong lighting features and rear-door control disabling. The lighting of the interior and the dashboard is also dimmable in order to allow for the discrete tailing of criminals. And just like traditional police cars, the seats are made of heavy anti-stab clothing.

Over the years Ford has gained a reputation for the police sedans it manufactures. At the beginning of the year the Dearborn, Michigan-based vehicle manufacturer introduced two new cop cars, F-150 police responder and the Police Responder Hybrid Sedan. The latter was the hybrid police vehicle that the industry has given a pursuit rating – this is a term which describes the capability of a vehicle to handle police tasks that are considered ‘heavy-duty’ and includes features such as power communications, robust braking as well as electrical systems which allow better handling of police chases.

Crown Victoria

And for more than three decades Ford manufactured the legendary cop car Crown Victoria which possessed off-road capabilities, V8 power and the durability of a pickup truck. However the production run of the Crown Victoria ended six years ago after 9.6 million cars had been produced.

The new Ford hybrid sedan for police departments and other public service employees coincides with a JPMorgan analyst predicting that the second largest vehicle manufacturer in the United States is working on a turn-around plan for its South American business which is currently making losses.

“Ford seems to be working on an out-of-the-box transformational plan to stanch what it deems as unacceptable losses in South America, which we suspect could be announced over the short-term,” Ryan Brinkman, an auto analyst, wrote in an investor note.