Originally published on EV Obsession.
The small Spanish island of Formentera — a popular tourist destination during the summer months — is aiming to become (at some unspecified date in the future) free of non-zero-emissions vehicles, according to recent reports.
As part of the path to this ambitious goal, the island recently took delivery of 6 Citroën E-Mehari electric vehicles (EVs). The E-Meharis were donated by the auto manufacturer to various hoteliers on the island with the intent of helping the transition to EVs (and possibly paving the way for further orders as well, no doubt).
To provide some context here — the 12-mile-long island is home to only around 12,000 or so people, but during the summer months, this number surges, along with the number of cars on the island. Apparently, a great many people bring their cars to the island by ferry.
Autoblog provides more:
up to 15,000 cars make their way onto the tiny island at a single time. For the inhabitants, peak tourism season means more air pollution, more congestion, and more noise from the abundance of vehicles.
… The local government is already encouraging hotels to rent out electric cars to guests, and some 200 businesses have taken advantage of tax breaks to install EV chargers on their properties. Also, Citroën is offering to provide hotels and car rental companies a discount on purchases of E-Meharis (though it’s unclear if it will lease out the batteries as it does in France). To the island’s advantage, its diminutive size means that range limitations of battery electric vehicles aren’t much of a concern. With 124 miles of driving range, the E-Mehari can drive from one end of Formentera to the other and back five times between charges.
The island’s tourism minister Alejandra Ferrer noted that the idea of the island going EV-only has been discussed by locals for some time now as a possible solution to tourism-associated pollution and noise.
“Formentera is working to maintain its characteristic landscape and peacefulness,” she commented.
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