Project EVIE

Project EVIE was a United States-based nonprofit initiative focused on encouraging the adoption of electric vehicles and presenting electric mobility as part of a more sustainable future. Its central concept was an international expedition using a commercially available production electric vehicle rather than a purpose-built prototype. The project described the journey as a way to demonstrate the practical potential of electric transportation, increase public awareness, and connect climate-oriented advocacy with a highly visible global undertaking. The proposed expedition was announced for June 1, 2010. Organizers intended to cover six continents and approximately 70 countries over an 18-month period, with an anticipated total distance of about 70,000 miles. The route was designed as a combination of road travel and sea crossings. It was planned to start in New Zealand, continue through Australia and Singapore, and then proceed across Southeast and East Asia, including mainland China and Japan, before passing through Nepal and India. The proposed itinerary would have continued through Pakistan and Iran into Europe, followed by a circuit through European countries. From Europe, the planned route was to move through Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Israel before entering Africa through Egypt. The expedition would then have crossed North Africa toward Dakar, Senegal, followed by a maritime transfer to Rio de Janeiro. In the Americas, the vehicle was expected to travel southwest from Brazil, join the Pan-American Highway, and head north through Central America. Because the Pan-American Highway is interrupted by the Darién Gap, the plan called for a boat transfer between Colombia and Panama before continuing toward the United States and ending in New York City. Project EVIE framed the journey as a climate-conscious effort intended to leave no footprint and take a practical step toward a sustainable future. Its public mission emphasized a commercially available electric vehicle, distinguishing the project from demonstrations based solely on experimental technology. The organization appears to have functioned primarily as an advocacy and awareness project rather than as a vehicle manufacturer, retailer, or conventional automotive company. The proposed expedition did not take place because the project did not secure sufficient funding. Available reference material does not establish a completed vehicle journey, a commercial product portfolio, a continuing operating structure, or a later corporate successor. The surviving description therefore primarily documents Project EVIE as an ambitious but unrealized electric-vehicle awareness initiative. Its historical significance lies in the attempt to use a global road expedition to make electric vehicles more visible at a time when long-distance electric mobility was still relatively uncommon in public campaigns.

Project EVIE emerged as a nonprofit initiative in the United States intended to advance public interest in electric vehicles. Rather than developing or selling its own vehicle, the project proposed using a commercially available production EV in a long-distance demonstration. Its stated objective was to encourage a more sustainable future by showing that electric mobility could serve as the basis for an ambitious international road journey. The project’s defining proposal was an expedition planned to start on June 1, 2010. Organizers envisioned an 18-month journey spanning six continents and roughly 70 countries, with a projected distance of approximately 70,000 miles. The route was structured around existing road networks and necessary maritime crossings. It was to begin in New Zealand and proceed to Australia, Singapore, Southeast Asia, mainland China, Japan, Nepal, and India. The itinerary then called for travel through southern Pakistan and Iran before entering Turkey and continuing into Europe. After a loop through Europe, the proposed expedition would have passed through Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Israel, entering Africa via Egypt. The African section was intended to cross North Africa toward Dakar, Senegal. A boat journey would then connect the expedition with Rio de Janeiro, from which the vehicle would travel southwest and join the Pan-American Highway. The route would continue north through the Americas, with a maritime detour around the Darién Gap between Colombia and Panama, ultimately ending in New York City. Project EVIE presented the expedition as both an electric-mobility demonstration and a climate-conscious public-awareness effort. Its mission emphasized a commercially available vehicle and the aspiration to complete the journey without leaving a conventional carbon footprint. This framing placed the initiative within the broader history of early electric-vehicle advocacy, when long-distance travel in production EVs was still a powerful way to challenge assumptions about range, infrastructure, and practicality. The expedition was never completed. Available reference material states that Project EVIE failed to secure sufficient funding, and the intended journey did not occur. There is no reliable information in the supplied sources establishing a later launch, a completed replacement expedition, a product business, named executives, or a continuing parent organization. Project EVIE is therefore best understood as an unrealized nonprofit advocacy project whose principal historical record is its proposed global electric-vehicle expedition.

• 2010

  Planned launch of the global EV expedition

  [1]Project EVIEen.wikipedia.org

  Project EVIE intended to begin an 18-month expedition on June 1, 2010, using a production electric vehicle to travel across six continents and approximately 70 countries.

• Expedition cancelled after inadequate fundraising

  [1]Project EVIEen.wikipedia.org

  The planned journey did not take place because the organization was unable to obtain sufficient funding.

A climate-oriented electric-vehicle advocacy project that sought to demonstrate the global practicality of production EVs through a highly visible, cross-continental expedition.

• Advocacy project · 2010

  Around-the-world production-EV expedition

  Project EVIE’s principal offering was a proposed public demonstration rather than a commercial product. The organization planned to drive a commercially available electric vehicle across a route spanning six continents, with road travel connected by maritime crossings. The expedition was intended to promote confidence in electric mobility, highlight the possibility of long-distance EV travel, and communicate a sustainability message. It was not completed because adequate funding was not secured.

• 2010Project EVIE Global Electric Vehicle Expedition

  New Zealand · Australia · Asia · Europe · Africa · South America · North America

  The proposed campaign centered on an 18-month, approximately 70,000-mile journey in a production electric vehicle. It was designed to travel through about 70 countries and use the expedition to promote electric-vehicle adoption and a sustainable future.

  Outcome. The expedition was not carried out because Project EVIE did not obtain sufficient funding.

  Source

• 2010

  Use a commercially available electric vehicle for the global demonstrationStrategy

  Background

  Project EVIE sought to promote electric vehicles by demonstrating their potential through an international journey, rather than by presenting an experimental or specially manufactured vehicle.

  Action taken

  The organization planned an around-the-world expedition covering six continents, approximately 70 countries, and about 70,000 miles.

  Aftermath

  The strategy remained unrealized because the project did not secure enough funding to conduct the expedition.

  Source

1. 1Project EVIEen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Project EVIE mission listingidealist.org