By Nnaemeka Nwachukwu

 

A Dutchman completed an epic 95,000 kilometre (59,000 miles) journey by electric car in Sydney. He did this in a bid to prove the viability of such vehicles in tackling climate change.

 

Wiebe Wakker drove his retrofitted station wagon, nicknamed ‘The blue bandit,’ across 33 countries in what he said was the world’s longest ever journey by electric car.

 

The trip from the Netherlands to Australia took just over three years. Funded by public donations from around the world, the trip necessitated including electricity to charge the bandit, food and a place to sleep.

 

Wakker drove across different countries and environment including turkey, Iran, India, Myanmar, Malaysia and Indonesia. The offers he received on his website determined the route.

 

 

Wakker said,

“I wanted to change people’s opinions and inspire people to start driving electric cars by showing the advantages of sustainable mobility.”

 

If one man can drive to the other side of the world in an electric car, the electric vehicles should definitely be viable for daily use.

 

Wakker said before they modified the car, it would have used 6,785 litres of petrol to complete the journey.

 

The modified vehicle can travel 200 kilometres on a single charge. Wakker says he spent just $300 (N108,000) on electricity, much of it in the remote desert outback of Australia.