The contract, signed with specialty vehicle manufacturer Carbon Motors Corporation, calls for the delivery of more than 240,000 six-cylinder commonrail diesel engines, automatic transmissions and low-emissions exhaust systems.

"The German powertrains will help US police forces reduce fuel consumption and carbon emissions by 40 percent," said BMW sales director, Ian Robertson.

The components will be built for a new police squad car called the "E-7", which is being exclusively developed by Carbon Motors for US and Canadian police forces. BMW said the engine for the car would be its three-liter, six-cylinder turbodiesel produced in Steyr, Austria. The Bavarian automaker also emphasized that the engine would use 40 percent less fuel.

No roll-out date has been set for the vehicle, which will feature advanced video surveillance equipment and ballistic protection, but Carbon Motors CEO Santana Li said more than 12,500 cars had already been ordered.

BMW has been working for some time to expand its components business and the order comes at just the right time. The standard US "cop car" of the past 20 years, the Ford Crown Victoria, will no longer be built starting next year.

But the competition is not asleep either. Ford is developing a new vehicle called the Police Interceptor, General Motors is selling a special version of its Chevrolet Caprice and Chrysler is offering the Dodge Charger.

The effort is worth it. US police forces drive a fleet of 450,000 vehicles, 75,000 of which need to be replaced very year.

gb/dpa/AFP/AP
Editor: Ben Knight