Monaco motors on electricity

Electric vehicles are quietly gaining space on the road.

Monegasque electric vehicle brand Venturi [1] is waiting to see if it's going to be supplying Citroen Berlingo cars to the French postal service. Gildo Pallanca-Pastor's company joined forces with Peugeot Citroen to supply 6 Berlingos for testing. If successful, Venturi will deliver 500 vans to help deliver mail around France.

Berlingo

In an effort to demonstrate the reliability of electric cars, Venturi are also sending a Berlingo on a road trip from Shanghai to Paris [2]. It's an attempt to set a world record for the longest distance traveled in a production electric vehicle. Sponsored by, among others, the Fondation Prince Albert II, the challenge is to cover 8,326 miles (13,400 km).

Closer to home, the Principality took delivery of 4 i-MIEV electric vehicles in November. Delivered by Mitsubishi, they are part of Monaco's efforts to fight environmental problems. The electric vehicles are being used by local services such as the post office, public parking services, and utility companies. Half of all Monaco's public fleet vehicle purchases must be zero-emission [3] by 2011, as announced earlier this year.

Tesla Roadster

Finally, Tesla Motors set up shop in November on the boulevard des Moulins. The Monaco address is the base for Tesla’s push into southern Europe. Established in California in 2002, Tesla is 100% electric and its Roadster sports car achieves 0 to 100 in 3.7 seconds, can reach speeds of 200 km/h, and has a battery that takes you 370 km before needing a recharge. About 900 Roadsters have been delivered to customers throughout Europe. If you've not received yours yet, and you just happen to be in Copenhagen, take advantage of the test drives offered at the Climate Change Summit.