Electric car associations are preparing for a boom in membership as more Canberrans decide to become battery-charged motorists.
Canberra Electric Vehicles Association member Julia McDonald said interest in the clean-energy cars was growing, with the tally of electric cars across the capital having grown to 19.
At least 14 of those cars were production vehicles purchased in the past six months or so. The remaining five were conversion cars introduced over a number of years.
“We are definitely noticing more and more people attending our showcase events,” she said. “Two years ago we held our first electric vehicle festival and 500 people came, last year that grew to a couple of thousand and we’re sure it will be even bigger this year.”
Ms McDonald was speaking at an electric vehicle display held at Exhibition Park yesterday as part of Australian Engineering Week.
The small showcase attracted a steady stream of more than 150 people and Engineering Australia Canberra deputy director Colleen Mays said many were seriously considering investing in the industry.
“In the past we’ve had a lot of knockers just coming to have a look but the majority of these people have done their research and are telling us they’re seriously considering taking the next step,” she said.
“We’ve done some calculations and figured it would cost only $3 a day to charge these vehicles and a lot of people find that quite amazing.”
One vehicle drawing many curious stares was Tony Castley’s Voltron electric racing bike.
Built and raced by Perth biochemist Chris Jones, the bike is one of only three in Australia created for Australia’s first zero emissions competition, the TTX eGrand Prix.
“We had our first race at the Eastern Creek Raceway [in Sydney] last week and the bike reached 180km/h,” said Mr Castley, who acts as Mr Jones’s pit-stop crew.
“It was the fastest on the circuit.”
The eGrand Prix is being held in countries across the world, with eight bikes in the United States, 10 in Europe and one more joining the Australian competition from New Zealand.
The bikes have a weight restriction of 250kg (the Voltron weighs 170kg) but aside from that, racers are free to use any frame, motor or battery technology they like.
“All the teams work with each other to experiment and discover what the best materials and technology might be,” Mr Castley said.
