Charis Chrisna
TechInAfrica – Slowly but surely, electric vehicles are gaining its way towards the African automotive market—whilst at the same time appealing those with interests on eco-friendly technology sectors. Internationally, however, it’s estimated that there are about 5.2 million (and counting) electric vehicle charging points across the world. This fact is accompanied by the ever-increasing numbers of EV sales. Despite this, African countries are yet to take the leap they needed to welcome electric vehicles towards their multi-layered society. While the limited availability for the vehicles could also pose as a significant factor, lack of technical expertise is also often correlated with this idea.
Looking to change the staggering motion of the subject, Generation E—an electric vehicle company of South Africa—holds Electric Vehicle Road Trip (abbreviated EVRT) which takes place from Pretoria all the way to Cape Town.
Cited from Generation E’s official site, “an epic adventure to showcase the power and capabilities of electric cars through challenging environments and over large distances to prove the infrastructure is in place for worry free electric travel. Hop into the latest electric car models available on the market and challenge other teams to optimize speed and distance to become the champion of the Electric Vehicle Road Trip Africa.”
This notion is based on the goal to inspire others (the general public, the government, and the industry) regarding what the capabilities of electric vehicles are. Via this endurance challenge of around 2000km (1243 miles), EVRT also aims to set new boundaries to show charging infrastructure is available in challenging environments. In addition, expanding the network to be more connected and change public’s perceptions to electric mobility are also considered crucial goals for this event.
Set in between October 3rd through 10th, the road trip is broken down into stages so participants have the availability to join either the full trip or partially on one stage only. For more information, visit their web page.
Source: evrtafrica.com
