New Guinness World Record for Number of EVs in a Parade Set Today During National Drive Electric Week in Cupertino
Sat, 09/20/2014
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact:
Zan Dubin Scott (310) 383-0956
zdubinscott@pluginamerica.org
NEW GUINNESS WORLD RECORD FOR NUMBER OF EVS IN A PARADE SET DURING NATIONAL DRIVE ELECTRIC WEEK IN CUPERTINO
World Record set with 507 EVs, beating previous record by 26
CUPERTINO, Calif., Sept. 20, 2014—Philip Robertson, a judge with GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS®, today pronounced a new world record for most electric vehicles in a parade: 507. The record-breaking EV procession took place at the National Drive Electric Week event in Cupertino, Calif. It was was organized by San Francisco BayLEAFs and the Silicon Valley chapter of the Electric Auto Association. Every vehicle was zero-emission, all-electric. No hybrid-electrics were allowed.
Aerial Video of parade available here.
Stuttgart, Germany held the previous world record for a 481-EV parade in May 2014.
“Congratulations on helping to drive the future of automotive technology,” Robertson said upon presenting the Guinness certificate to a cheering crowd of thousands. “This is a change moment.”
Parade EVs included the Nissan Leaf, Tesla Model S and Roadster, Fiat 500e, Ford Focus Electric, Smart ForTwo Electric Drive, Zero Motorcycles, Lightening Motorcycles, BMW i3, Mitsubishi iMieV, Toyota RAV4EV (legacy and newer) and the Kia Soul EV. Historic EVs included the AC Propulsion tzero. Stella, a multi-passenger vehicle powered by onboard solar that can produce twice as much energy as it needs in a day, was among the parade’s lead EVs, along with a Tesla Model S driven by executives from SAP, a main parade sponsor. Stella launched National Drive Electric Week in Venice, Calif. on Monday (9-15).
National Drive Electric Week, Sept. 15-21, features 152 events in more than 130 cities and 35 states. Events in cities in Italy, Canada and The Netherlands are part of that count. National Drive Electric Week was founded by Plug In America, which organizes the event nationally with the Sierra Club and the Electric Auto Association, in collaboration with groups across the U.S. and beyond.
The Cupertino event was held at De Anza College.
About Plug In America: Plug In America, a San Francisco-based national nonprofit organization, works to accelerate the shift to plug-in vehicles powered by clean, affordable, domestic electricity to reduce our nation’s dependence on petroleum and improve the global environment. The organization conceived National Drive Electric Week (formerly National Plug In Day) and has advanced workplace charging by pioneering regular ride-and-drive events at Google, Mattel, Paramount Pictures and other large corporations. It developed the world’s largest, most dedicated network of plug-in vehicle owners and drivers, many of whom have driven EVs for well over a decade. We drive electric. You can, too. www.pluginamerica.org.
About the Sierra Club: The Sierra Club is the nation’s oldest and largest grassroots environmental organization with more than 2.3 million members and supporters and chapters in all 50 states. The Sierra Club’s national electric vehicles campaign advocates for a switch to EVs as one important way to reduce emissions and cut our addiction to oil. www.sierraclub.org/EVGuide.
About the Electric Auto Association: The Electric Auto Association, formed in 1967, is a nonprofit educational organization with 75 chapters worldwide that promotes the advancement and widespread adoption of electric vehicles. www.electricauto.org.
About EAASV: The Silicon Valley chapter of the Electric Auto Association, launched in 1967, meets monthly in Palo Alto and has hosted an annual EV Rally for 42 years. EAASV.org
About SF BayLEAFs: A nonprofit educational group, the San Francisco BayLEAFs is the largest organization of Nissan LEAF owners and fans known. Their mission is to encourage EV adoption and use through outreach, education and collaboration. Meetings are open to all. http://sfbayleafs.org
Aerial View of event:
Aerial view shows EVs prior to peeling off in to parade and parade vehicles in motion on outer right edge of photo and along the top. The solar panels are De Anza College carports. Photo credit: Frank Mokaya/SF BayLEAFs. Aerial videos available upon request: zdubinscott@pluginamerica.org.
