Lisbon five-o will soon have a new car to patrol the streets of the city in. It is the Nissan LEAF, and can you think of a car less suitable for Police work? Actually, the LEAF is hired by PSP (Polícia de Segurança Pública) the security force responsible for policing the large urban areas of the country, so it spends all its time in the urban area, and charging shouldn’t be a problem.
Still, the LEAF is not that fast. People can overtake it on bicycles. But hey at least it’s green. The electric vehicle does not make any CO2 whatsoever. Nissan LEAF was chosen by PSP as part of its push to reduce its ecological footprint. What’s more, Portugal is an EV pioneer in Europe. It was one of the first countries to install a network of EV chargers in its big cities and was the first to sell Nissan LEAF to the European public when it was introduced in 2011. This will add to their credibility.
Eight Nissan LEAF police cars will report for duty to PSP in the first phase.
“We pride ourselves in being the first police force in the world to incorporate cars with zero-emission technology as part of our 5,000 vehicle fleet,” said Superintendent Paul Gomes Valente, National Director of PSP.