A Japanese team has set a new world record of distance travelled on a single charge for electric vehicles by accomplishing 1300 kms on a single charge. This feat was accomplished by a four-driver team led by Kenjiro Shinozuka, aged 64, who in 1997 was the first Japanese driver to win the extremely challenging Dakar Rally. The team plans to file this achievement in the Guinness Book of World Records that will make it an official EV record holder.
The car used was a remodelled Suzuki Every mini-vehicle equipped with a lithium-ion battery pack of undisclosed capacity that drove for 1300 kms over a 25 kms long course in the village of Ogata in north-east Japan. The four member team drove in turns day and night at a speed of around 30 km/hr for 46.5 hours when the vehicle stopped after running out of charge, beating the previous record of 1003.2 kms that was achieved by the Japan EV Club.
With electric cars perceived as the next best alternative to fossil fuels, this achievement just adds to the credibility to why EV cars can be the future. The Nissan Leaf, Chevrolet Volt, Tesla S or our very Indian Mahindra e2o see a bright future thanks to their zero emissions and minuscule consumption charge compared to an average petrol powered car. Add to that zero lag and easy maintenance makes electric vehicles the need of the hour. The Fisker Karma and the New Tesla S have also proved that EV’s can be fun to drive.
