The Los Angeles Police Department is leasing its 100 BMW i3 battery-electric hatchbacks through a local BMW dealership, following a competitive bidding process that didn't include Tesla Motors, even though the department tested the Model S as a possible police vehicle, the agency's fleet manager said.

"Tesla did not participate in the competitive bidding," said Vartan Yegiyan, the city's director of police transportation. "LAPD worked with the city's procurement agency (Department of General Services) to develop and produced a request for proposal to lease BEVs. Several car manufacturers attended the pre-bid meeting, and BMW won the bid by being the least expensive and responsive bidder. Nissan, Ford, Chrysler did attend the bid meeting, and the city RFQ was out for couple weeks for all BEV manufacturers to participate."

The agency will assign the i3s to the civilian work force and sworn officers for regular transportation needs to perform routine assignments. Chief Charlie Beck has indicated that future electric vehicles could eventually be used for patrol duties.

The city is leasing the vehicles for three-year terms using closed-end leases that provide 10,000- and 12,000-mile options for annual mileage. The monthly cost of the lease ($382.65 plus tax) includes vehicle maintenance and the i3 Enterprise connected drive telematics service for each vehicle for three years.

The city is also purchasing 104 charging stations, including four DC fast chargers that can provide a full charge in less than an hour. The LAPD redirected $1.5 million slated for purchasing vehicles toward purchasing the stations.