Overview
- Interior Minister Gerhard Karner ordered the operational EV test to stop at the end of 2026, returning core duties to combustion-engine vehicles.
- Officials judge electric models only conditionally suitable for policing, with current approval limited to courier or administrative use outside deployments.
- The ministry cites the absence of dependable, round-the-clock fast charging and range reductions from heavy tactical gear, exacerbated in winter.
- The 'Tron' trial began in January 2024 with 24 vehicles—including VW ID.3 and ID.4 models plus a Porsche Taycan—tested across Vienna, Lower Austria, Salzburg and Tyrol.
- Field reports flagged model-specific issues, including cramped cargo space, touch-control usability problems, braking complaints, charging hurdles and a 160 km/h speed cap on the VW ID.4, according to Kurier citing the police union.