Renowned U.S.-based Tesla tuner Unplugged Performance has founded a division called UP.Fit specifically to meet the EV demands of larger vehicle fleet operators. One of their earliest clients is the City of Murphy, or its police department to be more specific.
Rather than replacing its entire patrol car fleet with EVs, the department opted for a gradual adoption and ongoing study of efficiency. Preliminary data suggests that the electricity needed to operate a fleet of Model Y crossovers will cost a small fraction of what an analogous amount of fuel costs. Furthermore, the projected annual maintenance costs are 75% lower than those of ICE cars like the Ford Explorer or the Chevrolet Tahoe. Of course, this remains to be seen.
Another important point of savings comes from eliminating the need for idling. Idle running is said to be responsible for up to 60% of the wear of a typical internal combustion engine. Tesla EVs can supply power to headlights, HVAC and external appliances even when their motors aren’t running, so this becomes a non-issue.
Working with the Model Ys ordered by Murphy PD, UP.Fit equipped them with blinking lights, ventilated seats, gun racks, laptop holders and a one-person detainment cell. Some of the SUVs were specced with RWD and others with AWD.
According to the early calculations, an average patrol car assigned to a specific officer can be expected to generate around $4,000 in savings per year. Vehicles from the shared fleet – the ones that see the most use 24/7 – are expected to end up being $12,000 cheaper to run for 12 months. We hope to hear again from Murphy PD once the first results are available.
