The country’s national police has recently purchased new diesel cars for over €4.5m, as electric vehicles are unable to keep up with the spontaneous nature of police tasks.  Paperjam

The country’s national police has recently purchased new diesel cars for over €4.5m, as electric vehicles are unable to keep up with the spontaneous nature of police tasks.  Paperjam

The 96 diesel vehicles recently purchased for the grand duchy’s police are an exception to the government’s transition to electric mobility, an official has said, with electric models not meeting law enforcement needs.

The purchasing of the diesel cars, which produce emissions of up to 180g/km depending on the model, raised some eyebrows, especially as Luxembourg must reduce emissions from transport by 57% by 2030 and is heavily subsidising electric vehicles to achieve this goal.

“The electronic vehicles do not yet meet the requirements necessary for the smooth running of the daily operations of the police (e.g. in terms of charging time, autonomy, payload, etc.),” a police press officer told Delano.

Although the ministries of mobility and internal security strive for an entirely green fleet, had confirmed this was not yet possible for vehicles needed at short notice.

“The minister of internal security and the Luxembourg police fully support the Luxembourg government's plan for the electrification of the state transport system,” the spokesperson added. In 2018, the Luxembourg police force had started using two Tesla Model S cars for patrols. The number of electric vehicles has since then grown to 20 vehicles, however, these will primarily be used for administrative tasks and pre-planned itineraries.

The 96 diesel engines-- Ford S-Max models--fall under a derogation of the EU directive 2009/33/CE, under which clean and energy-efficient road transport vehicles have to be promoted, as they are needed to keep public order.

The rapid electrification of Luxembourg’s car fleets may create an issue not just in this sector. earlier this month, all-electric car fleets may not respond to the demands of businesses. The long loading time of battery electric vehicles and plug-ins currently render it difficult to spontaneously drive to new locations.