BBC chooses Think City for pioneering 4,000 mile tour of Europe in an electric car

BBC’s Electric Ride: 4,000 miles round Europe in a Think City electric car

A BBC documentary team is taking a ground breaking tour of Europe in an electric car. The team is recording the Electric Ride programme broadcast on Radio 4 on Saturdays at 10.30 am for four weeks from 19th June. It is also available globally on BBC i-player from the same date. The team can also be followed globally on BBC Online.

Their journey is a 4,000 mile pioneering odyssey taking in every country in Europe. BBC Electric Ride senior producer, Kevin Dawson, said: “The basic premise of our show is extremely simple – we want to look at the emergence of electric cars as a dawning reality. By embarking on an ambitious journey like this one, we will be able to share with our listeners the picture across Western Europe. We’ll be investigating the technology, infrastructure and political will behind the growth of electric vehicle culture.”

He continued: “Our choice of car came down to practicalities. We chose the Think City because it is a ready-to-market fully electric vehicle, with a good driving range and respectable top speed.”

Oslo’s streets echoed to the sound of silence

At the 1,000 mile stage, the team had reached Oslo, the home of the Think City. They were greeted by a convoy of over 60 electric cars that paraded through the city to celebrate the electric vehicle culture in Norway.

Norway’s Conservative Party Leader, Erna Solberg said: “I am a great supporter of electric cars. It is time for us to start building up the infrastructure in Norway to encourage an even greater take-up of electric vehicles here.”

BBC presenter and lead-drive on the Electric Ride programme, Peter Curran, said: “It’s fantastic that so many electric vehicle owners have turned out in support of our never-done-before expedition around Europe in an electric car. There are more electric vehicles on the streets here than any other country we’ve been to so far, and it has been great to hear about the national approach to this culture from Erna Solberg this morning. Our car, the Think City, also from Norway, has performed very well so far on our journey – all the way from London to Oslo – only another 3,000 miles and nine countries to go!”

Think CEO, Richard Canny, said: “With nearly 3,000 electric vehicles in use here in Norway, this literally is the home of the electric car, and we at Think are very proud to be at the centre of this culture as this great convoy here today shows. The race is on to lead this fast-growing sector, and with careful policy-making and management going forward, Norway could and should be the first to the finish line.”

For more details of the Think City electric car, see the Models section of this website.