Ford Pro’s 2025 Police Interceptor Utility vehicle recently launched with a standard hybrid option and safety and technology upgrades. These upgrades increase efficiency for police agencies and upfitters. While the PIU is still offered with a gas powertrain, the hybrid provides features that benefit the bottom line.
The PIU hybrid powertrain is a regenerative battery system that allows law enforcement to power onboard equipment when the vehicle’s engine is off. The hybrid powertrain works by running “on battery power until it doesn't have enough battery left, then it'll automatically switch over to gas,” Bertino explained. “As you drive, the battery will recharge itself. So, it's a cyclical motion that continuously charges and drives, charges and drives.”
“With an officer in idle, the vehicle can actually use that hybrid power to not only power the vehicle, but it can power all of the content in the vehicle,” she said. “Officers have a lot of equipment that they run in the vehicle. They have radios, they have radars, they have laptops—all that could be powered through that hybrid powertrain.”
This will generate hundreds of dollars in savings as a result; Ford estimates savings of up to 838 gallons per year. Over a six-year term of ownership with gas at $3.50 per gallon, Ford’s hybrid PIU could save a police fleet around $17,500, Ford estimates. This number doesn’t include the savings agencies could realize from reduced maintenance costs due to less wear and tear on the engine from idling.
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Law enforcement officials now have three powertrain options with Ford PIU
While the hybrid Ford PIU is standard, law enforcement fleets have additional powertrain options.
Customers can choose a 3.3-liter gas engine with 285 hp and 260 lb.-ft. of torque. While Bertino touted the performance and quality of the ICE-only PIU, the vehicle's hybrid counterpart does offer increased horsepower and torque. This is due to "the combination of the internal combustion engine with the electric motor increases the capability of torque and horsepower output beyond that of a traditional internal combustion only vehicle," Allen Magolan, Ford Performance vehicle engineer, told FleetOwner.
There is also an EcoBoost option with the PIU that delivers 400 hp and 415 lb.-ft. of torque. All powertrains, including the hybrid, have all-wheel drive.
Ford PIU’s safety upgrades and standard safety features
The Ford PIU is equipped with standard features to improve officer safety. These include ADAS features, such as automatic emergency braking, rear parking sensors, blind spot monitoring with cross-traffic alert, reverse brake assist, and rear cross-traffic braking.
It features the Police Perimeter Alert system, which detects movement around the vehicle and automatically activates the rear camera, rolls up the windows, locks the doors, and sounds a chime so that officers can be made fully aware of their surroundings while remaining safe. Also included is the Police Engine Idle system, which allows officers to leave the vehicle (with their keys) and keep the engine running to power onboard equipment.
Further, Ford designed the PIU to pass its 75-mph rear-impact crash test, ensuring officers are safe on the highways and “earning the vehicle’s pursuit-rated, pursuit-tested distinction,” according to a press release.
Available application-specific features include ballistic panels that fleets can add to the front door panels that provide level III+ or IV+ protection. Level III+ resists non-armor piercing bullets up to 0.30 caliber, and level IV+ resists armor-piercing rifle ammunition up to 0.30 caliber, Ford stated in its release.
Ford PIU’s technology and productivity features
The 2025 Ford PIU features a new, standard 12.3-inch LCD instrument cluster for “clearer information display during operation,” according to the release. It features a manual Police Pursuit Mode—activated with the click of a steering wheel button—that allows officers to put the vehicle in a high-performance tuning configuration while keeping their hands on the steering wheel. The PIU also features a Police Dark Car mode that helps officers remain discreet during stakeouts.
Additionally, the 2025 PIU features the Ford Pro Vehicle Integration System 2.0, which allows easier customization and upfitting.
The integration system is “a hardware and software solution that work together, that allow upfitters easier integration,” Bertino told FleetOwner. “It allows agencies to digitally connect upfits to the vehicle, and that way they can integrate physical switches and soft buttons, and different alerts in the vehicle a little bit more seamlessly than they could historically with just a traditional upfitting.”
The PIU is already equipped with four remappable switches integrated into the steering wheel, allowing the driver to control equipment such as sirens, speakers, lights, K9 door release, and more.
Police Accessory Independent Timed-release Output is also standard in the Ford PIU. This feature is a two-part security system for the cargo area that requires the push of an overhead release button in the cockpit area to engage a 45-second timer.
Once the timer is engaged, the officer will have 45 seconds to walk to the liftgate and press a second button to make it open. This feature offers robust security for anything in the PIU’s cargo area. A lockable vault is also available for secure weapons storage.
See also: NTEA issues OEM guidance to ease upfitting
Finally, the 2025 Ford PIU also features a Ford modem as standard equipment and the option to subscribe to Ford Pro Telematics.
“Everybody was really impressed with the way [the 2025 PIU] drove,” Bertino said about the attendees at the recent Police Fleet Expo who drove Ford’s 2025 PIU. “For 2025 model year, we did a lot of updates—not so much on the exterior of the vehicle, but we did some engine calibration updates, then we did some updates on the screens, on the interior, so it makes a little bit different of a driving experience for our police customers. They were very happy.”
