First expedition of electric vehicles starts in Moldova

Chisinau, 3 July /MOLDPRES/ - The first expedition of electric vehicles started in the centre of Moldova’s capital today. On the next five days, nine cars of various brands and models, with electric propulsion, will cover an overall distance of  about 1,000 km each.  

The goal of the marathon is to promote the environment-friendly mobility, showing the capacity of the electric cars and the achievements of the electric transport from Moldova. The electric automobile of the Sustainable Green Cities Project will also be part of the expedition’s fleet. The project is financed by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and is implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Moldova, in partnership with the Chisinau city hall.  

„The demand of electric cars is continuously growing, which requires the development of infrastructure for the vehicles with zero emissions. Within the partnership, initiated by UNDP with Moldova’s government, Chisinau city hall, other strategic partners, we are set to enhance the efficiency of the transport system and increase the number of automobiles with low emissions of pollutants,” the acting resident coordinator of UN Moldova, resident representative of the United Nations Development Programme Dima Al-Khatib said.     

The route of the marathon covers the North, Centre and South regions of Moldova and will go through the cities of Chisinau, Orhei, Soldanesti, Floresti, Balti, Calarasi, Lapusna, Cimislia, Causeni and Anenii Noi.  

„The transports sector is the main source of air pollution, Chisinau being the settlement with most vehicles from Moldova. Yet, we are glad that, in the last year, the number of electric cars has increased considerably. The capital’s city hall has an electric automobile. It is a little, but it is a beginning. We accepted to participate in the marathon, as we want to promote the sustainable transport and motivate people to opt for environment-friendly cars,” the acting general mayor of Chisinau, Ruslan Codreanu, said.    

The electric vehicles during the expedition will be charged at the first public plugs for charging automobiles, which have been meanwhile set on more national roads of Moldova. Also, the marathon will anticipate the extension of the present network by another 20 new charging stations, which this year are to be set due to the partnership between UNDP and the Economics and Infrastructure Ministry.

The number of electric cars registered in Moldova has increased almost four-fold in the last 12 months – from 54 to over 200.