CHICAGO - Chicago Mayor Emanuel announced that the City's Department of Fleet and Facilities Management (2FM) will make an initial purchase of 100 Ford Interceptor sedans and SUVs for the City's law enforcement fleet, with plans to purchase 500 vehicles total. The $3.5 million investment is the initial purchase resulting from an open, online reverse auction for these public safety vehicles, according to a release from the City.

This is the largest order to date of the new Ford Interceptors. The vehicles will be purchased through a Chicago Ford dealership and a Bensenville Ford dealership. The City expects a number of the vehicles to be on the streets of Chicago by the end of 2012.  As a result of the reverse auction, the City expects to purchase 500 Ford Interceptor vehicles over the next five years at a cost of approximately $3.5 million per 100 vehicles. The City maintains an option to purchase more vehicles over the life of the contract depending on funding availability.

Mayor Emanuel said one of the benefits of the purchase is that it contributes to the local economy, as all the vehicles will be assembled at the Torrence Avenue Ford plant in Chicago. Last fall, Ford announced that nearly 2,000 new jobs and a third shift were being created at the Torrence Avenue Ford plant in Chicago. Two hundred and thirty of those jobs were created specifically to support the production of the new Interceptors. Additional manufacturing and support jobs are expected to be created at the plant over time, according to the City release.

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