Chris Ramsey will drive a Nissan Ariya E-4ORCE from the North Pole to the South Pole in March 2023. He sat down with me for an interview and we chatted about his achievements, his gratitude for Nissan’s support and more. This is part one of our interview. In this part we are talking about:
- Chris Ramsey’s inspiration to switch from fossil fuel vehicles to electric vehicles.
- Founding Plug In Adventures and what the future of EVs will look like 20 years after the founding of Plug In Adventures.
Chris Ramsey’s Inspiration To Switch From Fossil Fuel Vehicles To Electric Vehicles
Chris Ramsey is an adventurer who advocates sustainable living. He was the first person to drive the Mongol Rally in an EV. He also holds the Guinness World Record for the longest time traveling on an electric bicycle – 12 hours. We talked about it a bit, starting with what inspired him to live sustainably.
“It started when I discovered the Nissan LEAF. I talk a lot about my background and I am open about my background. I am from Aberdeen, Scotland, the oil and gas capital of Europe. So I grew up in the oil and gas capital and that was my background.
“I previously worked in the oil and gas industry, researching renewable energy – part of the company I was working for at the time. And an ad appeared in the sidebar for a Nissan LEAF, an electric car.”
This aroused Chris’s curiosity. He spoke about the concerns about insufficient range or not being able to charge the car and how this inspired him to borrow a Nissan LEAF.
“I borrowed a Nissan LEAF [and] drove from the dealer to all three UK capitals over a long weekend when there were around 60 chargers across the UK. I had a lot of charging challenges – dangling cables outside hotel windows and you name it, I did it on that trip. Came from that trip and absolutely loved it. †
The journey, he told me, was a nightmare at times due to the lack of charging infrastructure at the time. But it was the technology that won him over.
“I just got the technology and loved that side of it. I just thought, ‘I just drove 1600 miles in one weekend and paid zero fuel.’ It was all free charging back then.”
The idea of saving money on fuel is what motivated him to make the switch to electric vehicles.
“When we shared that on social media and created the Plug In Adventures name and shared that journey, people loved seeing electric cars driving through real-life situations and pushing them to the limit.”
The inspiration, Chris told me, just kept coming. He kept coming up with new ideas and new ways of doing things and then he drove the Mongol Rally, which he had wanted to do for about three years.
Founding of Plug In Adventures, and what the future of EVs will look like 20 years after Plug In Adventures was founded
Chris Ramsey founded Plug In Adventures in 2011. The landscape of EVs has changed dramatically since then and will have changed a lot more by the 20th anniversary of the founding of Plug In Adventures. I asked Chris to share his thoughts on this and how he sees EVs evolving.
“I think we’re seeing it now in the sense that EVs are becoming more normalized. They’re not the quirky vehicle that might have a friend in one out of 30 people. People are realizing that electric vehicles are more viable for them every day. Moving on to 2030 and 2032, of course many countries like the UK will ban the sale of petrol and diesel cars.
“So, people will have to buy some kind of plug-in vehicle. Then we’ll see that it just keeps happening. And the mindset will change from people thinking about distance anxiety, to overcoming long distances, to ‘Why didn’t I do this before?’”
About five years ago, Chris predicted it would get to the point where the expansion of EVs and technology would usher in a new era of technology. I have pointed out that as this new technology develops, people who already have electric cars will not want to switch to the newer technology because they will be happier with the electric cars they already have.
“That’s the mentality we have as people.”
It is logical. I know several people who don’t want to switch from fossil fuel vehicles to electric vehicles because they are happy with what they have.
He added that as we continue to tackle the climate crisis, the collective mindset is already starting to change and become a little more open.
“I think the landscape in 2030 will be a lot better from an electric vehicle point of view, and the vision will be a lot better from a climate crisis point of view. There is much more hope. And the planet starts to turn the corner.”
Part 2 will follow.
Check out our brand new E-BikeGuide† If you’re curious about electric bikes, this is the best place to start your e-mobility journey!
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