Can electric cars be emergency and transport vehicles? The BMW i3 shows how

Who would ever have thought an electric car will someday be used as emergency and transport vehicles?  A couple of years ago this seemed as futuristic as an idea from a Star Wars movie.  Yet, thanks to BMW’s ingenuity of creating an electric, practical, tall city car, this is already happening.

BMW i3 as emissions-free, and quick, emergency vehicle

While most emergency vehicles are most often not economical, the BMW i3 can respond to emergencies, emissions-free.

Ironically, some emergency-response vehicles such as police bakkies and fire engine trucks are mostly not quick.  The BMW i3 is.  Its acceleration off the line and in mid-range will surprise many, making it an ideally suited emergency response vehicle.

Authorities in Germany, Great Britain, Italy and USA have added BMW i3 to their fleet of emergency vehicles.  In Germany, BMW i3 cars are used in 3 emergency applications:  in Bavaria for the Polizei (Police), as a fire fighter vehicle (leading the pack of fire engine trucks) and as emergency-response vehicle. 

In Milan, Italy, the Polizia have a BMW i3, and in London, Great Britain, the BMW i3 is also used as fire fighter.  The well-known “black&white” is the name given to LAPD police cars, and in Los Angeles, USA, they now have a black&white BMW i3. 

More than 50 years experience in emergency vehicle development

BMW has been developing emergency vehicles based on their production vehicles for over 50 years.

The BMW i3 allows BMW to offer emergency vehicles ex works (directly from manufacturer) compete with task-specific design foils, roof bars, special signaling system including flashing lights, and pressure-chamber loudspeakers.

Thanks to its built-in SIM card (as found in any BMW with the SOS emergency button installed), the BMW i3 is also well connected, making use of intelligent networking to make work quicker and easier for emergency personnel.  For example, the target destination co-ordinates can be sent to the BMW i3’s built-in navigation system route guidance, with no need to manually enter a destination, enabling the driver to focus on driving and the team to focus on preparation for the emergency.

Other emissions-free transport uses

But it extends beyond emergency vehicles:  if one is doing urban collections and deliveries, a panel van can be electric, but if you want to transport cash in more style than a panel van or cash-in-transit vehicle, it can be used to ferry money.  IdeaBank in Warsaw, Poland, is using the BMW i3 as quiet stylish branded money transport vehicle, where the car can be scheduled to arrive via an app.

Read our review of the BMW i3 REx to see how quiet, efficient and ideal for city use it is.