Ecopia carries Nissan Leaf on record journey

Bridgestone has expressed pride in the contribution its Ecopia tyres made towards the completion of a 12,500 kilometre journey made by three all-electric Nissan Leaf cars within a 42 day period. This feat, the tyre maker comments, is thought to be the longest journey achieved by these electric vehicles in such a short period of time.

The “Oranje Trophy” journey started on 14 June in Amsterdam and took the travelling sports fans’ motorcade of 30 vehicles through Poland and the Ukraine, where they stopped to support the Netherlands footballers in Euro 2012. They then drove through Russia to the North Cape in Finland before heading back through Norway, Sweden and Denmark to finish in London on 26 July, in time for the opening of the Olympic Games.

“Road and weather conditions varied widely over the journey as you can imagine, but the Ecopia tyres were perfect in wet and dry. Their low rolling resistance helped us maximise the distance we travelled between recharges” said Leaf driver, Kevin Kooijman.

The Nissan Leaf cars used DBT CEV fast charging technology on the route, supplied via a portable truck-mounted system. A top tip for any prospective electric car purchaser is to buy your own recharging truck, as the on-board technology allows electric vehicles to recharge up to 80 per cent of their batteries in less than half an hour, enabling the cars to travel distances of 120 to 130 kilometres per charge and up to 600 kilometres a day.

In 2010, Nissan selected Bridgestone Ecopia EP150 tyres as original equipment for the LEAF; the Oranje Trophy vehicles were fitted with size 205/55R16 91V tyres. “Bridgestone is proud to have been part of this achievement. It shows the viability of electric vehicles for longer journeys as well as city travel, and the compatibility of Bridgestone Ecopia tyres with electric vehicles” commented Gert Meylemans, senior manager, European Communications Office, Bridgestone Europe.