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West Mercia Police (WMP) added 35 new electric vehicles (EVs) to its fleet in 2025, marking a significant step in its drive to cut costs and reduce carbon emissions. The move brought the total number of EVs in operation to 55, bringing about an expected annual saving of £30,000 while improving vehicle reliability and cutting carbon emissions by 80 tonnes of CO₂ each year.
The EV rollout forms part of West Mercia Police’s wider strategy to halve 2023 emission by 2030 and achieve Net Zero by 2050 as set out in its “West Mercia Police Net Zero Strategy 2024-27”, alongside which John Campion - Police and Crime Commissioner of West Mercia Police – has committed to “reduce the environmental impact of policing on our environment and ensure that the wider economic, social and environmental wellbeing of our communities is considered when services are commissioned or procured”. West Mercia Police is committed to implementing a ‘Zero Emission Vehicle Purchasing Policy’ for all new fleet vehicles before 2035.
The Challenge
West Mercia Police (WMP) operates a fleet of 769 vehicles, their fuel use accounting for nearly half of their scope 1 and 2 emissions. These vehicles cover an area of 2,868 square miles and complete more than 8.8m miles per year operating from around 54 locations and covering a complex set of 56 different vehicle functions ranging from patrol vehicles to pool cars. Whilst more than 50 EVs are already deployed in operational support roles, achieving net zero will require transition of the entire fleet which requires responding to changing vehicle availability as a result of the zero emission vehicle mandate.
Solution
FPS used its proprietary suite of EV Transition Planning Tools in combination with a customised stakeholder consultation programme to:
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Convert West Mercia’s operational data into a granular simulation of vehicle energy use and EV charging at every location in the estate that reflected the heightened energy demands from duty cycles of high-performance response vehicles.
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Capture charging requirements from both vehicles based at the 54 locations and vehicles that would only visit the site infrequently for charging.
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Assess vehicle and charging infrastructure requirements across the entire fleet and estate.
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Model total cost of ownership at vehicle, use and site level.
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Identify required power capacities for charging at every site.
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Model a transition plan with annualised investment, vehicle/charger install rates, civil works estimates and carbon reductions.
Impact
By modelling 371k individual vehicle movements, FPS was able to:
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Propose a technically feasible pathway to replace 49% of the vehicles in the fleet using current technology and up to 97% with advancements expected in the next 5 years.
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Develop a sequence for combined infrastructure and vehicle roll out that balanced utilisation and future proofing and was aligned to high level transition targets.
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Identify more than £1m in potential cost reductions in infrastructure spend through eliminating low utilisation charging infrastructure.
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Supply granular half hourly charging load profiles to assist WMP in DNO dialogue in relation to connections, whilst highlighting connection upgrade mitigation tactics.
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Propose a procurement and delivery mechanism method that would allow WMP to deliver and manage the programme.
Richard Muirhead, Director of Commercial Services - West Mercia Police
FPS has been instrumental in guiding us through the complexities of converting our vehicle and estates data into a workable plan. Throughout the engagement FPS have been flexible to our needs and timetable and supportive in their work with us. The input of a credible professional partner has been important to demonstrate due diligence in our estimates of the infrastructure requirements