Photo: Volkswagen
What if we told you about an island that is putting things in place for green energy, as well as switching its ICE vehicles for EVs? Well, it exists, it is in Greece, and the Volkswagen Group has just delivered the first batch of electric vehicles to private customers.
The island we are referring to is called Astypalea, and the German conglomerate has had its eyes on electrifying it ever since 2020. At least, that is when the idea became public, but it is clear that this took a bit of thought before transforming it into reality.
The plan started out as a trial project between the Greek authorities and the German corporation, and the goal is to show that a remote place, such as an island, can have climate-neutral mobility solutions, as well as clean energy to power those EVs, along with other necessities.
In other words, the Greek authorities, along with the Volkswagen Group, want to prove that it is possible to make an island operate on sustainable energy alone, as well as use EVs for its mobility needs. Back in 2020, the VW Group signed a deal with the Hellenic authorities that involved a six-year trial, but it might be extended later.
Now, the time has come for the first EVs to be delivered to private customers on the island. Volkswagen has handed the keys to several e-up!, ID.3, ID.4 units to those living on Astypalea. Moreover, several eScooters by SEAT, MO 125, to be specific, were delivered, replacing old, two-stroke, along with newer four-stroke scooters and mopeds.
The first private customer of a Volkswagen ID.3 on the Astypalea island is called Thanos Papagiannis, and he used to own a Volkswagen Golf 3. Can we stop for a second and just imagine the kind of upgrade that happened here?
Switching from a Golf 3 to an ID.3 overnight is a massive leap, and Papagiannis hopes that the moves made by the island will inspire other places in the world to switch to more eco-friendly vehicles.
Moreover, just a change of vehicles and energy sources would not have been enough, so the island is also collecting scrap vehicles of all kinds, which are then shipped to Athens for professional recycling.
This summer, VW will launch a local ride-sharing and vehicle sharing service, which will be all-electric, and will help the inhabitants who cannot afford a new vehicle yet to experience an EV at a more affordable price. It is not clear if it will be a new form of its car subscription service, but that remains to be seen.
The plan started out as a trial project between the Greek authorities and the German corporation, and the goal is to show that a remote place, such as an island, can have climate-neutral mobility solutions, as well as clean energy to power those EVs, along with other necessities.
In other words, the Greek authorities, along with the Volkswagen Group, want to prove that it is possible to make an island operate on sustainable energy alone, as well as use EVs for its mobility needs. Back in 2020, the VW Group signed a deal with the Hellenic authorities that involved a six-year trial, but it might be extended later.
Now, the time has come for the first EVs to be delivered to private customers on the island. Volkswagen has handed the keys to several e-up!, ID.3, ID.4 units to those living on Astypalea. Moreover, several eScooters by SEAT, MO 125, to be specific, were delivered, replacing old, two-stroke, along with newer four-stroke scooters and mopeds.
The first private customer of a Volkswagen ID.3 on the Astypalea island is called Thanos Papagiannis, and he used to own a Volkswagen Golf 3. Can we stop for a second and just imagine the kind of upgrade that happened here?
Switching from a Golf 3 to an ID.3 overnight is a massive leap, and Papagiannis hopes that the moves made by the island will inspire other places in the world to switch to more eco-friendly vehicles.
Moreover, just a change of vehicles and energy sources would not have been enough, so the island is also collecting scrap vehicles of all kinds, which are then shipped to Athens for professional recycling.
This summer, VW will launch a local ride-sharing and vehicle sharing service, which will be all-electric, and will help the inhabitants who cannot afford a new vehicle yet to experience an EV at a more affordable price. It is not clear if it will be a new form of its car subscription service, but that remains to be seen.
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