Editor's note: An earlier version of this story misidentified Ford's police Interceptor utility vehicle.
NEW YORK -- Ford Motor Co. is adding another sedan to its police vehicle lineup to boost its dominant share of the market for pursuit vehicles, even as law-enforcement agencies choose one of its crossovers at nearly five times the rate of its current car offering.
The company on Monday introduced what it calls the industry’s first pursuit-rated, gasoline-electric hybrid police vehicle, a modified midsize Fusion sedan. The hybrid car is rated at 38 mpg in combined city and highway driving, more than double the 18 mpg combined on Ford's current Interceptor sedan, a modified Taurus, and the 17 mpg combined rating of the Interceptor utility, which is based on the Explorer.
The new hybrid sedan features an Atkinson-cycle 2.0-liter engine paired with an electric motor and lithium ion battery. It can run in battery-only mode up to 60 mph and has a 0-to-60 mph time comparable to that of the venerable Crown Victoria, about 8.7 seconds, according to Ford executives.
The current police interceptor Fusion sedan zips from zero to 60 mph in 7.43 seconds, according to certification tests conducted by the Michigan State Police.
The hybrid Interceptor sedan will reach a top speed of more than 100 mph, Ford officials said, although they would not be more specific.
The hybrid is one of 13 new electrified vehicles Ford is adding to its portfolio by 2021. This year it announced plans for the hybrid pursuit sedan, along with a second hybrid police vehicle, a fully electric SUV, a hybrid F-150, a hybrid Mustang, a hybrid autonomous vehicle and a Transit Custom plug-in hybrid.
The automaker is investing $4.5 billion in the 13 electrified vehicles. Additionally, Ford said last week it would electrify 70 percent of its Ford brand portfolio in China by 2025.
“Electrifying our next generation of vehicles is core to our unwavering commitment to sustainability,” Joe Hinrichs, Ford’s President of the Americas, said in a statement. “By being a leader in electrified vehicles, we remain committed to delivering cars, trucks and SUVs that are better not only for our customers, but for the environment and society as well.”
Commitment to cops
The Blue Oval controls 63 percent of the U.S. police market, and has sold vehicles to law enforcement since 1920 when the Model T was used to catch bad guys.
Hinrichs declined to say how large of a market share Ford wanted to achieve with the new addition, but said the hybrid will add incremental volume. He declined to say whether or not sales to police departments were profitable.
“It is important to us,” he said. “And it’s important for our entire fleet business. We’ll continue to invest if it’s good business for us.”
Ford’s Interceptor sales are up through the first quarter of 2017 -- 9,933 compared with 9,805 last year. Its government fleet sales, which include shipments to police agencies, are down one-tenth of a percentage point from last year to 5.9 percent of sales.
Ford will continue to sell Taurus, Fusion and Explorer nonhybrid Interceptors, Hinrichs said. He declined to say what type of vehicle the second new hybrid police responder will be.
Mirroring trends
