The unprecedented parade of electric vehicles made no noise, but had an impact. Now the organizers have their sights set on the second Guinness world record
The Guinness World Record for the largest gathering of a 100 percent electric car parade was broken by EV drivers in Saint-Hyacinthe, Que. this month.
In collaboration with Electric Mobility Canada and Earth Day Canada, a total of 733 electric cars stood on Avenue José-Maria-Rosell on October 24th for the fifth annual Saint-Hyacinthe three-day Electric Vehicle Show. The all-electric meeting surpassed the previous Guinness record set in Denmark in 2016 with 402 electric cars.
“The reason we wanted to organize this event is just to show that there is a clear evolution in electric mobility and the introduction of electric vehicles in Quebec and Canada … We wanted to show that things are really moving and more and more people are using electric vehicles . “” Said Daniel Breton, President and CEO of EMC, in an interview with Electric Autonomy Canada.
Saint-Hyacinthe, a quiet rural town about 60 kilometers from Montreal, is best known for its agribusiness, but EV drivers from all over Quebec gathered in town for the event – some even from Ottawa and even Burlington, Ontario.
Photo: Sylvain Bélanger
“I found it really interesting to see that in the middle of a farmland we have 733 people coming here. [but] Since we’ve been in this field for 20 years, people who like electric vehicles and people who talk about electric vehicles and volunteers who work in electric vehicles are excited, ”says Breton.
Double world records
The Guinness World Records Organization has set strict parameters that had to be met in order for the new record to be recognized.
All cars – with the exception of trucks, buses, and scooters – had to be 100 percent electric; they had to be registered; They must have driven the 3.2 kilometers of the parade’s parade and cross the finish line in the same order in which they started, Breton explains. Seven cars were disqualified from the count for failing to follow the rules.
EMC, says Breton, will also compete to break a second record for the event – the largest parade of all types of electric vehicles (including trucks, buses, scooters, motorcycles, etc.) gathered in one place, although only cars were present at the Saint Hyacinthe parade. The Swiss-based organization Louis Palmer holds the current record of 576 for its event at Berlin Tempelhof Airport in 2015.
For Breton, the most interesting part of the Saint-Hyacinthe event was being surrounded by hundreds of vehicles that made no sound.
Photo: Sylvain Bélanger
“It was really quiet and there was really no pollution, so it was really easy to breathe while all the cars were driving,” says Breton. “If we had had such a meeting with gas vehicles, we would have suffocated.”
“This shows that in 10, 15 or 20 years, if all cars or most cars are electric cars, the noise and air pollution at such gatherings will be much less.”
The Saint-Hyacinthe records will be officially approved by the Guinness organization in the coming weeks.
