Vauxhall police cars go global
Vauxhall cars are interesting police forces in Norway, France and Denmark just months after becoming the largest police car supplier in the UK, the car maker has revealed.
Vauxhall has introduced its converted Vauxhall Astra and Vauxhall Insignia models to Norwegian police and the manufacturer says they were 'impressed' by the cars.
Vauxhall will now lend cars to Norwegian and French forces for use in their police fleets, according to Dick Ellam, Vauxhall Special Vehicles Manager.
He said: "We are very pleased with the interest we have had in our vehicles from the Police in Norway, as well as in France and Denmark. We are now in the process of developing left-hand drive demonstration models, which will be fully compliant to ACPO ITS Single Vehicle Architecture, to loan to the Norwegian and French Police forces."
Late last year, Vauxhall became the largest supplier of police cars to British police, something the car maker has put down to a mixture of performance and economy.
In total 71 per cent of Britain's police forces are contracted to buy Vauxhall vehicles for their fleets, covering the Vauxhall Corsa, Vauxhall Astra, Vauxhall Insignia and Vauxhall's entire van range.
Vauxhall was one of the first manufacturers to offer an eco-badged model, in this case the Ecoflex, across its entire range.
This means road tax-free Vauxhall Corsa and Vauxhall Astra models and lower running costs for fleet owners, says Vauxhall.
The range has also been praised for its 100,000 mile, unlimited time warranty and strong resale values, while a dedicated scheme is designed to modify cars and vans for police use.
Ellam added: "A key factor in our success is our approach to the supply chain. The only element we outsource is the delivery of the vehicle to the customer - everything else in done in-house under our control. We are therefore able to make savings for police fleets in the time it takes to bring their vehicles into service."