Team drives electric vans from Switzerland to Qatar in world’s first West-East EV trip: A five-person Swiss and German team set out from Geneva, Switzerland on 28 August in two electric Volkswagen vans for a 6.5k kilometer journey that ended in Doha, Qatar on Saturday, Voice of America reported. The journey aimed to raise awareness about the climate benefits of electric vehicles, the group’s leader, Frank Rinderknecht,told AFP. It was completed in collaboration with the Geneva International Motor Show, which takes place in Qatar this year, VOA added.

Bumps along the road: The team’s experience highlighted shortfalls in charging infrastructure, with Rinderknecht comparing the misalignment in technologies to the “early days of telecommunication,” he said. While in Europe, the team had to switch between different apps to pay for charging points in different countries. After reaching Aqaba, Jordan by ship from Turkey, the team had to adapt their systems to new Chinese hardware.

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