An enthusiastic Slovenian developer has pushed the boundaries of electric car industry a bit further this weekend, as he drove 726 kilometres in an electric car on one charging, the daily Dnevnik reported on Monday.
Andrej Pečjak from the village of Češnjica in the Gorenjsko region drove a converted Mazda5 called Metron7 from the lakeside resort of Bled to Croatia's Dubrovnik without stopping for an additional charge, which is the longest distance ever driven in an electric car in normal traffic.
Pečjak's trip was filmed by a cameraman in his car, while a journalist and a representative of Bled tourism followed him in another car.
Metron7 thus drove five times the distance that smaller electric cars manufactured by known brands are capable of driving, according to Dnevnik. It was also driving at normal traffic speed, at an average of 65 kilometres an hour.
Metron7, a family car, was developed by Institute Metron, a four-member company developing electric cars without state support or sponsors.
"We have proven that long distances can be driven by an electric car on one charging. If we have achieved this on our limited funds, what could others who have much more funds achieve," Pečjak said.
He added that the project was also about testing car electronics maker Letrika's drive. "The drive's energy conversion efficiency is so high that there are practically no losses."
The car that made the trip on Saturday and Sunday is a prototype and is not for sale at the moment. But Institute Metron would be more than willing to sell its technology.
"If the car was made in big series its price would be some EUR 50,000," Pečjak said, noting that the biggest obstacle to mass use of electric cars were limited editions.
Source: Sloveniatimes
