Although the London to Geneva EV Rally 2024 may now be complete, it has left a whole heap of excitement in its wake.
The epic three-day event took place from 22nd to 24th of June and saw participants tackle the route from London’s Parliament Square all the way to the shores of Lake Geneva in Switzerland.
Covering an impressive 600+ electric miles from the English countryside, through busy French cities, to the magnificent landscapes of Switzerland, the rally is comprised three stages:
Stage 1: London to Brighton
Stage 2: Brighton to Paris
Stage 3: Paris to Geneva
With the aim of the rally being to celebrate the rapid development of EVs and renewable energy technology, to that end, there will be prizes for:
- Furthest distance on a single charge
- Range achievement closest to official WLTP range
- Quickest charge of +50%
- Fastest time (total time driving or charging)
- Lowest amount of energy used in total
- Cheapest trip charge cost
- Cheapest vehicle to complete
- Most efficient retrofit/self-build
- Most efficient vehicle overall
Celebrate team Zapmap’s wins for Furthest distance on a single charge and Cheapest charge cost overall, and check out their experience below.
Team Zapmap
The Zapmap crew left the Zapmobile at home for this challenge (having already proved she could handle her own European adventure from Bristol to Amsterdam) and instead loaded up Zapmapper Andrew’s snazzy Cupra Born.
Departing from Langley for Brighton via Ditchling Beacon (the original route of the first ever EV Rally) the team set off on June 22nd on the first leg of the trip.
Upon arriving in Brighton they parked up on the sea front to enjoy the seaside and the pier where they met up with Gary from the EV Musings podcast (sponsored by Zapmap), who was also taking part in the rally.
After cocktails and sunset views the Cupra Born was plugged in to ‘granny charge’ (3-pin plug, 3kW charge) overnight, ready for the journey ahead.
On Sunday morning the Zapmap crew dropped their bombshell to the event organisers and other participants - that they were veering off course, heading not for the ferry like everyone else, but instead opting for the Channel Tunnel crossing. Thanks to the Zapmap app, they routed to the bank of ultra-rapid charge points at Folkestone, getting them back to 100% charge in no time at all.
A quick and painless train ride later they arrived in France, heading straight for Paris and stopping only for lunch. In fact, during the entire route, the team never once stopped out of dire need to charge. Instead, they opted to only charge when stopping for comfort breaks, meals, and overnight stays.
After traversing the city traffic (and a couple of laps of the Arc De Triomphe later) the Zapmappers arrived at their Parisian destination around 5pm, nearly four hours ahead of the rest of the rally participants, where they went on to enjoy an evening reception with the event organisers and Quentin Willson from FairCharge.
Pictured (from left to right): Shania, Joe, Quentin Willson, Andrew and Eleanor
Freshly fully charged overnight, thanks to a handy 7kW charge point at their hotel, the team set off on the final leg of the rally. After a full day of driving, three charge stops (including a very gallant gesture - giving up their charger to the owner of a Renault Zoe in far more dire need of range), the crew reached the beautiful shores of Lake Geneva just before 6pm, with an impressive 53% state of charge still remaining. Celebrations included group hugs and ice-creams all around.
Apart from being the only team to complete the rally 100% emissions free (the other participants commented on the clouds of smoke coming from the ferry), how did the Zapmappers do?
- Total time taken: 4 days 1hr total time (this includes their entire journey from and returning to their start point in Bristol)
- Journey length - London to Geneva: 732 miles (1,549 miles total)
- Energy used: 442 kWh
- Total Charging cost: £144 to charge
- Average cost per mile: 7p
The Zapmap team would like to extend a very appreciative ‘thank you’ to the event organisers who worked so hard to make the rally an enjoyable experience for all and for bringing together such a wonderful community of EV drivers.
