Electric-Car Distance Record: 1,172 Miles In 24 Hours (With Battery Switching)

By Antony Ingram

Antony Ingram

Contributing Writer BIO

Antony is an automotive obsessive: Whether it drives, sits there looking pretty or intrigues from afar, he'll talk and write about it. Automotive... More

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What can be done to dispel the assertion that the relatively short range of electric cars isn't suitable for most drivers?

Well, you can either drive around in one yourself, displaying a lack of problems as you drive between work and back each day like millions of other drivers, and encourage others to try the same.

Or, you can take an electric car and embark upon a huge journey, set a record, and then promote it.

At 1,172 miles in 24 hours of driving, an electric Holden Commodore developed by EV Engineering has now set an unofficial record for an EV driven in 24 hours.

The Commodore, a popular sedan from GM's Australian arm Holden, traded its usual V-6 or V-8 for an electric motor and battery pack. That pack was removable, allowing the team to complete a 75.8-mile loop of roads before returning to base for a scaled-down version of the Better Place-style battery swap.

The team reports that it still had between 20-25 percent charge left at the end of each loop, suggesting a range of more than 93 miles.

“It’s a great feeling to see the electric car our team designed and developed here in Australia has beaten a world distance record. While our achievement is not an official record, it’s a sound validation of our car’s capabilities,” said CEO of EV Engineering, Ian McCleave.

The team says that the record could only be achieved through battery swapping. Australia is the third market, following Israel and Denmark, where the Better Place battery-switch system is being rolled out.

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