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Dutchman ends 'world's longest electric car trip' in Australia
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In this handout photo taken on December 31, 2018 and released on April 7, 2019 from Dutch driver Wiebe Wakker (C-R) shows him at Uluru in the Northern Territory with his retrofitted station wagon nicknamed 'The Blue Bandit' during his round-the-world trip in the electric car. (Plug Me In Project/Wiebe Wakke/AFP/File)
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Dutchman completed an epic 95,000 kilometer (59,000 mile) journey by electric car in Sydney Sunday 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 and was funded by public donations from around the world, including electricity to charge the Bandit, food and a place to sleep.
Wakker drove across a variety of countries and environments including Turkey, Iran, India, Myanmar, Malaysia and Indonesia, with the route determined by the offers he received on his website.
"I wanted to change people's opinions and inspire people to start driving electric by showing the advantages of sustainable mobility," Wakker said.
Read also: The world's leading electric-car visionary isn't Elon Musk
"If one man can drive to the other side of the world in an electric car, then EVs (electric vehicles) should definitely be viable for daily use."
Wakker said before the car was modified, it would have used 6,785 litres (1,800 US gallons) of petrol to complete the journey.
The modified vehicle can travel 200 kilometres on a single charge, with Wakker saying he spent just US$300 on electricity, much of it in the remote desert Outback of Australia.
