By Phoebe Wall Howard
Detroit Free Press
DEARBORN, Mich. — New York City is buying 184 Mustang Mach-E SUVs for law enforcement and emergency response as part of the largest purchase of all-electric vehicles to date, city officials announced Wednesday.
The vehicles, which will arrive in the Big Apple by June 30, will replace gas-powered vehicles currently used by the New York Police Department, the New York City Sheriff’s Office, the Department of Correction, the Department of Parks and Recreation, the Department of Environmental Protection, NYC Emergency Management, and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
The city will spend $11.5 million on initial orders, said a news release from the New York City Department of Citywide Administrative Services.
That price tag averages to approximately $62,500 per vehicle. Law enforcement vehicle costs include significant retrofitting for safety and equipment.
“Smart investments in fleet electrification will help New York City break its dependence on fossil fuels,” Dawn Pinnock, acting commissioner of the NYC DCAS said in the news release.
This latest purchase is an attempt by New York City to achieve an all-electric fleet by 2035 in its push to reduce carbon emissions that contribute to respiratory illnesses and greenhouse gases that lead to climate change, New York City officials said in the news release.
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Keith Kerman, NYC chief fleet officer, said the news release, “This order of all electric Mach-Es will enable our law enforcement agencies to put electric models to the full test and work out maintenance, lights and sirens, charging, and other operational issues.”
The New York City news release initially refers to the Mach-E but the pricing portion of the news release refers to the Mach-E GT, which is a high performance vehicle. The Free Press has reached out to the city agency for clarification. A Ford spokesman confirmed the fleet order is for the Mustang Mach-E GT.
In September, the 2021 Mustang Mach-E became the first all-electric vehicle to pass Michigan State Police testing that included acceleration, top speed, braking and high-speed pursuit and emergency response handling, Ford announced.
[RELATED: Ford Mustang Mach-E passes Mich. State Police test — the 1st all-electric vehicle to do so]
The Mustang Mach-E GT has been clocked going 0-60 mph in 3.8 seconds.
Tests by the Michigan State Police and Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department establish standards that law enforcement agencies all over the country use to evaluate vehicles.
‘Challenging times’
The Mustang Mach-E GT models purchased will have a range of 270 miles. The city has installed 29 fast chargers for the NYPD and 103 chargers citywide with plans to add 275 more chargers in 2022.
Dr. Jason Graham, acting chief medical examiner, said working both in public health and criminal justice requires safe and efficient transportation during the city’s “most challenging times.”
New York City has more than 1,070 chargers, including fast, solar and mobile chargers, the news release said. Installation of chargers, including those made available for public use, continue to be installed.
Ford CEO Jim Farley tweeted immediately after New York City released the news Wednesday, “As America’s leading maker of police vehicles, @Ford is proud the City of New York is adding the Mustang Mach-E GT to the NYPD fleet.”
He also retweeted a NYC government tweet that said, “NYC DCAS is making the largest electric vehicle purchase for law enforcement and emergency response use to date, taking another step towards achieving an all-electric municipal fleet and helping the City divest from fossil fuels and reduce emissions!”
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The Dearborn automaker has long established itself in the law enforcement community as a trusted supplier of police cars and SUVs, which generate significant revenue for the automaker. The Police Interceptor, a highly modified Ford Explorer, is perhaps the most high-profile current vehicle.
Ford provides about two-thirds of police vehicles in the U.S., according to sales data.
The Mustang Mach-E is assembled at Cuautitlán Assembly in Mexico for all markets except China.
Ford value climbs
This is the latest high-profile win for Ford and its new CEO, who has seen the stock price more than double to $20 a share since he took the helm of the company Oct. 1, 2020.
On Tuesday, Ford’s market capitalization — the total value of company stock — surpassed its cross-town rival General Motors. The stock market reflected a value for Ford at $82.96 billion and GM at $82.92 billion. The dollar amount includes market perception of future prospects.
It was the first time Ford’s market capitalization exceeded GM’s since 2016, according to Dow Jones Market Data cited by Barron’s. On Wednesday, Ford’s market value held at $82.16 billion while GM climbed up to $83.09 billion.
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