The police in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, hate their 180 electric cars so much that criticism of the cars has become a political issue.
The officers complain, but the politicians say the electric cars should be used. And now 180 electric Audis have become a hot topic in the German state of Baden-Württemberg.
This is reported by the newspaper Merkur .
The southern German state purchased almost 200 electric Audis in 2024, which the police have since used in their daily work. But ever since, officers have been complaining about the cars.
– Police officers are forced to stand at the charging stations when their colleagues call for help over the radio, says Ralf Kusterer, local chairman of the police union.
The idea was that the police should be at the forefront of the green transition, and that was why the 180 Audis were purchased.
The police cannot help their colleagues – the electric cars must charge
But a year after the purchase, it's time to evaluate, and the officers have nothing but complaints about the electric cars.
The police complain, among other things, that the cars take too long to charge and that they drive too little on a charge. The officers simply cannot trust the cars.
Now, a majority outside the state government has demanded an answer from those in power. The use of electric cars in the police force must be thoroughly investigated, the demand is.
"There are a lot of problems with them, and it takes far too long to solve them. It affects the work of the police," says Ralf Kusterer.
The state government refuses to admit that ordering the cars was a mistake. Instead, they believe that the police should find routines that work for their electric car fleet.
The state government believes that the entire society must change, and that the police must not and should not stand in the way of the switch to electric cars.
The police are forced to spend their time at charging stations instead of chasing criminals, Ralf Kusterer replies.
It's not just south of the border that police are having problems with electric cars. The Danish National Police has also purchased several Volkswagen ID.3s to test them in a pilot project.
As early as February last year, however, officers reported that they were simply getting more motion sick in cars.
At that time, the electric cars had a trial period in certain police districts for a year. And it is the opinion of the National Police that the cars will be kept when the trial period is over. Which it already did in 2023.
