Powell police are finding it harder and harder to get new patrol cars, with the city being forced last week to instead purchase another patrol truck.

“We’re having a hard time finding sedans,” said City Administrator Zack Thorington.

In October, the Powell City Council agreed to buy a 2020 Dodge Charger sedan from Fremont Motors, at a price of $28,512.

“We knew it was going to be a limited run [of Chargers and] tried to get our order in early,” Powell Police Chief Roy Eckerdt explained in an interview.

However, Chrysler — which manufactures Dodge vehicles — canceled the order, informing the city that its Charger “was one of many that was not going to be built,” said City Fleet Manager Ray Sanders. Vehicle manufacturers as a whole have been focusing more on SUVs and trucks and less on sedans in response to consumer demand.

As a result, the city council agreed last week to instead buy a 2020 Dodge Ram 1500 pickup from Fremont for $30,828 (an increase of $2,300 from what the Charger would have cost). Fremont was the low bidder among six auto dealers that submitted bids to the city for a new truck.

In looking toward next year’s models, the city is eyeing a law enforcement version of Ford’s Fusion sedan, which is a gasoline-electric hybrid.

“We are hoping the price point is such that we will be able to try one of those,” Sanders said. “We are hoping for the future that we are not bound to just pickups and SUV type vehicles.”

Under the terms of the contract approved by the city council, Fremont Motors must deliver the new Dodge Ram to the police department by no later than May 15.