A group of German and French students who call themselves the Pilgreens arrived in Paris at the Climate Conference, after a 20,000 km journey in an electric Tuk Tuk. To celebrate their arrival they organized a parade through Paris starting from Place de Breteil at 09:00. They will be accompanied by a large number of electric vehicles and a parade of 10 electric Tuk Tuks.
It all started after the Pilgreens got acquainted with the noisy and polluting Tuk Tuk in Bangkok. They started to think about what could possibly ease our burden on the environment. Then they bumped into the team of Tuk Tuk Factory team, a Dutch manufacturer of electric Tuks. A crazy idea was born. The green students decided to take the challenge of driving almost 20,000 kilometers from Bangkok to Toulouse, their home city. They want to show the world that electric power is the way to go.
Earlier this year in Bangkok, the Pilgreens embarked on an epic journey halfway across the globe. Their adventurous route took them through Eurasia's rain forests, deserts and 3800 meter-high mountain passes. Despite the inhospitable terrain the electric Tuk Tuk encountered, no significant technical problems occurred. Karen Koulakian from the Pilgreens says, "We are really happy to see the quality and fun-aspect of the eTuk proven by this fantastic undertaking!"
"We are happy to support the Pilgreens in this great initiative, and we are proud that our eTuk is holding up so well in these extremely harsh conditions. We actually don't make our vehicles for rally purposes!" says Roland Vos, Director of Tuk Tuk Factory. Apart from a bigger lithium battery pack and a solar panel, the eTuk Limo is a standard production vehicle. Where normal gasoline powered Tuk Tuks stay within the city perimeters, this electric eTuk Limo has a huge range of 350 kilometers.
After the parade in Paris, the Pilgreens will continue their journey to their home town Toulouse.