17 December 2018 – Kia has completed a major 3,741-kilometre road trip in a new all-electric e-Niro crossover, delivering a message to delegates of the 24th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP24) about the importance of transitioning to more sustainable forms of transport.
Driven from Lisbon, European Green Capital (EGC) 2020, to COP24 in Katowice, Poland, the Kia e-Niro illustrated the benefits of zero-emissions driving – and the many obstacles that still stand in the way of more widespread uptake of electric vehicles.
‘COP by Electric Car’: 3,741 kilometres, nine days, seven countries, 14 cities
The ‘COP by Electric Car’ team departed from Lisbon on 3 December and arrived in Katowice on 11 December. Throughout the nine-day drive, Kia’s new all-electric e-Niro crossover covered 3,741 kilometres, crossing seven countries and stopping in 14 cities: Madrid, Vitoria-Gasteiz (EGC 2012), San Sebastián, Bordeaux, Tours, Paris, Brussels, Nijmegen (EGC 2018), Essen (EGC 2017), Dortmund, Berlin, Dresden, Wrocław and Katowice. Along the way, a number of meetings were arranged with politicians to demonstrate the viability of sustainable, electric mobility and draw attention to its challenges.
The drive was completed by Get2C, a Portuguese organisation active in the area of climate change, energy and carbon markets, in partnership with Kia Motors and the Lisbon City Council. The initiative represented the start of Get2C’s ‘Cooler World’ initiative, a project focused on raising awareness of the potential for long-distance electric mobility – and potential reductions in emissions associated with it. The e-Niro was driven by Luís Costa, Partner of Get2C, and two journalists – Inés Alves from Portuguese news outlet Sapo 24, and Luis Graciano.
The e-Niro’s CO2 emissions were measured in real-time by the COP by Electric Car team. Its indirect CO2 emissions (associated with the production of electricity) totalled 154 kg – representing a 74% reduction in emissions compared to the same journey undertaken in an average vehicle powered by internal combustion engine. The car’s average electricity consumption was 17 kW/100 km, and its average speed was 71 kph. Over nine days, the car spent 54.5 hours being charged – 15 hours during the daytime and 39.5 hours during overnight stops.
Luís Costa commented: “COP by Electric Car is an independent project that aims to raise public awareness of sustainability, particularly alerting people to the risks and challenges related to climate change. This journey fulfils this ambition by focusing on electric mobility, which will play a decisive role in decarbonisation. The e-Niro was easy, comfortable and enjoyable to drive – the biggest limitations we encountered along the way were related to the inadequate payment network and a lack of standardisation of plugs.”
e-Niro on sale in Europe; zero-emissions with a range up to 455 kilometres
Kia’s first fully-electric crossover utility vehicle, the e-Niro, offers a driving range of up to 455 kilometres (282 miles)* on a single charge – and up to 615 kilometres (382 miles) in the city**. Now on-sale in select European markets, the new Kia e-Niro offers greater driving range than many gasoline cars and most mainstream electric vehicles (and even a number of significantly more expensive electric cars) from its zero-emissions powertrain. Its unique combination of style and practicality is also matched by Kia’s unrivalled 7-Year, 150,000-kilometre warranty, which also covers the battery pack and electric motor.
The e-Niro is available with a long-range, high-capacity 64 kWh lithium-ion polymer battery, as well as a 39.2 kWh power pack, which offers drivers up to 289 km (179 miles) of zero-emissions motoring on a full charge. Plugged into a 100 kW fast charger, it takes only 42 minutes to recharge the e-Niro’s 64 kWh battery from 20% to 80%.
The new e-Niro joins existing Hybrid and Plug-in Hybrid variants of the Niro – of which more than 250,000 have sold globally since its introduction in 2016. To date, Europe has accounted for more than 82,000 sales of the hybrid crossover.
