You might soon see new police cars on the road, in the form of Hybrid Toyota Corollas. Tailer-made for UK police, the Corolla is said to be reliable and durable as well as offering the fuel and emissions efficiency of hybrid power.
To celebrate the Corolla’s new role, Toyota Manufacturing UK (TMUK) recently hosted the equivalent of a passing-out parade for the car at its Burnaston plant in Derbyshire, the production centre for all European Corolla models. More than 20 constabularies attended the “blue light” event to learn more about the qualities that make Corolla a strong addition to police fleets.
TMUK has worked closely with a number of police forces during the past two years to ensure the vehicle meets all the principal requirements for consideration when service fleets are being replaced or upgraded.
A dedicated team at Burnaston’s Special Vehicle Operations Division carries out the conversion work, ensuring the finished vehicles meet Toyota’s high-quality standards. Using TMUK’s state-of-the-art production facilities and with the benefit of the technicians’ expertise, the project has achieved significant economies of scale that help drive down costs. Production capacity is expected to expand to 15 vehicle conversions per week.
Key features of the police-specification vehicle include: –
- Enhanced safety: built-in satellite navigation, parking sensors and a dog guard for the load compartment.
- Roof-mounted lightbar, exterior and interior illumination
- Secondary battery equipment and control systems built to withstand impact forces
- Additional features include a siren, radio system support and livery options
To ensure the finished vehicle is fit for the job, the Police Authority Specification Corolla was subjected to extensive testing, including the Metropolitan Police’s own rigorous test programme, which it passed with flying colours. The vehicle is now available to police forces across the UK. Two versions of the Touring Sports hybrid model are offered: the 1.8-litre Active and the 2.0-litre Icon.
Richard Kenworthy, TMUK Managing Director, said: “We have worked with all divisions of Toyota in the UK and various constabularies, which has enabled us to build on their feedback and requirements. Ensuring that we applied standard Toyota practices for the work means we have been able to deliver a vehicle that meets the police forces’ stringent requirements. The adoption of Corolla by the police is testament to the efforts our employees invest in every vehicle that comes off our production line. We are proud that our Corolla is now one of the vehicles of choice for the police.”
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