If you live in New York, you may soon be spotting some new green patrol cars on the streets; the New York Police Department recently deployed 40 Nissan Altima Hybrids for use as both marked and unmarked patrol vehicles. The vehicles are being targeted for precincts with large coverage areas and precincts where heavy stop-and-go traffic is common. At 35 MPG, the Altima Hybrids will get double the mileage of the traditional Impalas used by the NYPD.

The switch is part of the PlaNYC goal of reducing New York City energy use and emissions 30 percent by 2017 and the initial deployment (expected to total 100 by the end of the year) will be analyzed for effectiveness for one year before more hybrid vehicles are deployed for the fleet. At a cost increase of only about $1,500 per vehicle over the Impalas, the hybrid cars are expected to quickly pay off the difference in fuel savings, and should then go on to save moeny thanks to reduced fuel costs.

While the 40 new NYPD Nissan Altima Hybrids will be the first hybrid vehicles to used by the Police Department as regular police cars, the the parking enforcement fleet currently uses both hybrid vehicles and electric scooters, and there are 10 GMC Yukon Hybrid SUVS used by NYPD Duty Captains for marked patrol.

Seeing concrete action follow PlaNYC’s goals is an exciting step for the city, indicating that real efforts will be taken to reach the reduction figure set out. In the case of the Nissan Altima Hybrid patrol cars, the action is ideal because the potential for environmental efficiency is paired with the potential for concrete financial savings (something all taxpayers should be excited about). Keep your eyes peeled for the new NYPD patrol cars while you’re out and about in the Big Apple if you want to check them out yourself and let us know what you think about this hybrid car change.

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