Dutchman Wiebe Wakker – who has driven an electric car 95,000 kilometres from Amsterdam to Sydney, crossing through 33 countries in 1,113 days will complete the world’s longest ever electric car journey this Sunday in Sydney.
The car, a retrofitted station wagon named The Blue Bandit, has a range of 200km on a single charge. The original non-modified car would have used 6,785 litres of petrol to complete the journey but Wakker spent only $300 on electricity, mostly in outback Australia. He had only one flat tyre and zero car accidents.
“I am excited to finish in Sydney because it is as far away from Holland on as you can get on Earth,” said Wakker.
“Electric cars are a way to tackle climate change,” he said. “I wanted to change people’s opinions and inspire people to start driving electric by showing the advantages of sustainable mobility. If one man can drive to the other side of the world in an electric car, then they should definitely be viable for daily use.”
When he reaches the Sydney Botanic Gardens on Sunday, Wakker will become the first person to drive to the other side of the world in an electric car. He was also the first person to cross Turkey, Iran, India, Myanmar, Malaysia and Indonesia in an EV. Wakker left Amsterdam on 15 March 2016, more than three years ago, without any money but with a goal to prove the viability of electric cars. He asked people to support him by offering a meal, a place to sleep, or electricity to charge his car. Thousands signed up on his website and these offers determined the route of the journey, which criss-crossed through 33 countries.
“Nearly 2,000 people from 45 countries offered to host me – I received so much help. Locals helped repair the car when it broke down, people offered me a couch to sleep on, and many offered a plug to charge the car. I am very grateful for all the help I received and it changed me as a person.”
Before arriving at the Royal Botanic Garden Wakker will be guided by a parade of 50 Electric Vehicles from the north of the city, crossing the iconic Harbour Bridge and the centre of Sydney to finish near the Opera House.
“My journey has been powered by people and this parade is a symbolic way to show the world that together we can achieve a lot and to show what electric mobility is capable of.”
Wiebe is asking every electric car owner to join the parade which is going to be one of the biggest Australia has ever seen.
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