The Tour d’Excellence of the Geneva International Motor Show (GIMS) reached its grand culmination on September 30, 2023, in Doha, Qatar, after a 34-day, 8,218-kilometer drive.
The two crews, led by Frank M. Rinderknecht, the CEO of Rinspeed AG, and Rainer Zietlow, the owner of Challenge4.de, left Geneva on August 28.
Their arrival in Doha marked not only the completion of this incredible journey but also the opening of the GIMS Qatar automotive festival, which took over Doha and the surrounding area from October 5 to 14, 2023. This extraordinary expedition, driven by two all-electric Volkswagen ID. Buzz, bearing the GIMS colors, saw the crews traverse Europe, the Balkans, Greece, Turkey, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia without assistance vehicles. The adventure was marked by unique daily challenges, intense heat, stunning landscapes, and encounters across twelve countries.
One of the tour's standout features has been the innovative use of technology combined with necessary ingenuity. Participants used 26 different vehicle charging apps, a local SIM card, and the invaluable help of locals for translation and access to electricity, ensuring they could charge their electric vehicles. Rainer Zietlow said, "Though time-consuming, this approach has underlined the feasibility of electric vehicle travel in diverse regions. It has also enabled us to meet local people who were as curious as they were delighted to help us charge."
The Tour d’Excellence highlighted several important aspects of electromobility. First, its success shows that current European EV technology is reliable and, to a certain extent, flexible enough. However, there is still much work to be done regarding the interoperability of electricity suppliers and the standardization of charging norms and recharging infrastructure within some countries. Frank M. Rinderknecht said, "In addition to downloading 26 apps, we also had to deal with the fact that most EVs in Jordan come from China and use the GB/T charging standard, which is incompatible with our European Type 2 standard. In Saudi Arabia, in particular, the network of charging points is practically nonexistent, with a few exceptions in a handful of cities.” Rainer Zietlow adds: "This didn't stop us from being among the first to cross the Arabian Peninsula in EVs a full 2,000 km without using a single charging station!"
