Vancouver Driver Sets New Coast to Coast EV Record

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While Soicher wants Canadians to know that electric vehicles must be more widely adopted to help curb climate change, and that the technology is more reliable and far ranging than ever, there was a special, more personal reason behind the adventure. Soicher had originally planned to tackle the long drive with his wife Mary Ann, but she died of cancer in June 2018.

A year later, Soicher crossed Canada in his EV, taking 63 days to complete the stretch. But with the ever-growing charging network, a ‘2.0’ drive was in order and Soicher set out on the road again, wrapping the sides of the vehicle with his wife’s name and the charity set up in her memory.

“Transportation done by fossil fuels is a high percentage of carbon emissions,” Soicher told CBC News. “This summer, with all the fires, people are really realizing that we have to make some changes, quickly.”

The Growing Fast-Charging Network Makes Longer Trips Possible

Newfoundland and Labrador’s new fast-charging station network was the last piece of the puzzle needed to complete the trip in record time. Prior to this, it would have been impossible to cross the province in a reasonable amount of time and within legal speed limits.

Although a previous team in a Tesla drove Highway 1 from B.C. to Halifax in a faster time, the trip didn’t cover the full length of the highway, making Mary Ann’s Electric Drive 2.0 the first record for travelling the length of the Trans Canada Highway the fastest in an electric vehicle.