ELECTRIC, NOT FUEL Will Power Future Car

With AISHA SAMBO

The automobile industry is charging ahead with electrification, shifting away from fossil fuel which has become a massive trend across the industry with the majority of the carmakers showing cars at the 89th Geneva Motor sports show having at least some kind of electric-powered car on offer.

The first edition of the International Motor Sports Show took place in 1905 and since then, the show had a reputation for gathering hundreds of exhibitors, becoming one of the most well-known and most popular motor shows in Europe. One of the 5 “majors” recognised by the International Organisation of Automobile Constructors (OICA). This year all roads lead to Geneva again with over 220

exhibitors including major carmakers, designers, equipment suppliers, as well as important industrial suppliers, presenting around 900 cars over the 110,000 m2 of the 7 halls of Palexpo in Geneva. The atmosphere was nothing short of breathtaking and exciting, this

• 

important major international auto show had 660,000 visitors with nearly half being international. The most refreshing thing was eying both the high end and middle-class brands battle with the latest technologies for electric cars and these are my top 3 electric cars at this year’s show:

1. The Volkswagen ID Buggy, a green fun car that exudes cool. The frog-like colour matches the interior with no screen. This two-seater car had an eye-catching chunky 18-inch wheels that runs 150 miles per a charge. The most interesting thing about this car is VW plans to lease out the design to smaller brands to build their own.
2. Secondly, the Seat hatchback called the el-born. The brands first electric car with a 260 miles range on a single charge. The charge can get you up to 80% in 45 minutes and has a five-seater with 20inch tires. The price is yet to be confirmed but rumour has it you’ll be looking at spending around $30,000.
3. My final pick is FIAT’s concept for the Centoventi aka The Panda. FIAT celebrates 120 years of the company with this simple city car. The panda is a forward-thinking car simple and super customisable. The interior is fantastic and you can remove the back bench and customise the front seat to a baby seat. The batteries were the highlight for me though, you can change one battery pack which has a range of 62 miles and you can add two more battery packs in the car making it a 250 miles range.
   In the midst of all these beautiful well thought of and produced cars, I can’t help but wonder how far left behind Africa will be with the third industrial revolution. My top picks for electric cars all come from brands that make affordable cars, however, the prices for these cars many middle-class families in third worlds may not be able to afford it, not to mention the practicality of it, most developing countries still struggle with stable electricity. This reason wouldn’t even stop high-end brands like Aston Martin, Audi, and Mercedes from showing off concept electric SUVs. The scrambling to catch up with Californian electric carmaker Tesla was real, however I predict that third world countries may be able to catch up in the next half-century or less hopefully. For example, Nigeria’s crude oil is still a major source of government revenue, we may not be able to adopt hybrid and electric cars because the more of those cars we have the lesser the demand for petroleum, for this reason I doubt we can achieve the SDG on climate change by 2030. Notable car makers absent this year include Ford, Volvo, Hyundai and Opel. Despite the absence of these large car makers, innovative new electric cars abound, particularly highly expensive electric super cars made by small firms.
   It would be a crime not to mention my top favourite luxury and super car at the show. The Bugatti Divo, Audi e-tron GT, Lamborghini Aventador roadster SVJ, Bentley Bentayga. The latter, Bentley Bentayga was particularly interesting talking about its speed. The car has been categorised as the fastest SUV in the world today, capable of reaching 306 kilometers per hour (190 mph). Other than the great line ups of impressive electric cars, the Bentley Continental GT number 9 edition by Mulliner stole my heart. This beauty, celebrating Bentley at 100 years, was inspired by the legendary Bentley Blower, a supercharged race car driven by Sir Henry Ralph Stanley “Tim” Birkin at the 1930 Le Mans 24 Hours. Serving as a nod to the company’s motorsport heritage and such a sentimental piece, Bentley went the extra mile by cutting up pieces of wood from the original inspired car, so you will actually find a piece of wood in the 100 cars that will be available for purchase at $332,000 with taxes. This handmade electric vehicle by Hispano Suiza also caught my eye with a whooping price tag of $1 million. What was intriguing was how they reviving old models, but with all-electric engines. Hispano Suiza roots date back to 1898 when a Spanish artillery captain, Emilio de la Cuadra, started building electric vehicles in Barcelona.
   Note to self Africa, big changes are occurring and the world is not going to wait for us, we need to catch up. If you enjoyed this review please share and keep me in your prayers I get to drive and own my retirement cars a P1 Mclaran, Bentley Continental or a Rolls Royce.