A Hyundai Ioniq 5 EV in new livery has been revealed as the police “community engagement vehicle” for Auckland’s Ethnic Services staff.
The newly decorated and dedicated vehicle for New Zealand’s diverse communities has been introduced at a launch at the commissioner’s Ethnic Focus Forum at Counties Manukau police station.
It goes with the Pirihimana (Māori), Va’a (Pasifika) and Rainbow (Pride) vehicles in the police diversity fleet.
The Ioniq 5 livery depicts the word ‘hello’ in 75 of the more than 170 different languages spoken by ethnic communities in New Zealand.
It also reflects the diversity within New Zealand Police and the respect for those in the community who have English as their second language, police say, adding the EV will help increase trust and confidence through inclusion, consultation and recruitment, while acknowledging multicultural communities.
“We hope this new community car, which is a part of our police fleet, showcases our dedication and commitment to the diverse communities we serve,” says police commissioner Andrew Coster.
“This car symbolises our ongoing commitment to inclusion consultation and recruitment by valuing diversity, which is one of our core policing values as an organisation.”
The EV will also support police when staff are out engaging with ethnic communities, comprising more than 230 ethnicities.
An EV from the Waitemata police district fleet pool was repurposed for the project and will help police reduce emissions and meet its carbon reduction targets.
“The expectation is this car, along with the others in our fleet, will reduce carbon emissions by around 176.1 tonnes annually,” police say, adding it aligns with global policing innovations and modernises and transforms the police fleet.
