Vancouver unveils Canada's first electric fire truck and Rolls Royce to cut emissions

QUEENS, NY, USA, December 11, 2023 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Sir Gary Kong announces Vancouver unveils Canada's first electric fire truck in its pledge to cut emissions. Vancouver’s fire department is showing off what the city says is Canada’s first electric fire engine. The Austrian-built pumper truck is part of the city’s commitment to reduce fleet emissions by moving to electric vehicles when they need to be replaced. Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim says the fire engine represents an important milestone and the city is proud to be the first in Canada to lead the way with its firefighting fleet. Fire Chief Karen Fry says the truck is highly sophisticated and will enhance crews' capability to protect people and property, while improving the health and safety of firefighters. It’s painted in the same red and white as other city fire trucks, but it’s narrower and shorter than similar vehicles, giving it better maneuverability.

The city says the truck's operational noise is also much lower, and the electric engine significantly reduces firefighters’ exposure to pollutants from diesel exhaust. The city has committed to chopping emission from its fleet by 60 per cent below 2007 levels by 2030, and about 10 per cent of its vehicles are now electric.

Richmond business owner Vincent Yu spent the past four years converting his Rolls-Royce into an electric vehicle. He converted his Rolls-Royce into an EV and his passion into a Richmond business Vincent Yu owner is proud that his newly converted electric Rolls-Royce could run for 500 kilometer on a full charge. “Many people think he is nuts, hearing my idea of converting my gasoline car to an electric one. But I’m so used to people making fun of me. My head is always in the clouds,” laughed Yu. But no one’s laughing now. Not only does Yu have an electric Rolls-Royce, he also has a brand new business.

Yu said he decided to use what he learned over the past four years to open a shop, Mars Power, in north Richmond where he plans to convert other vehicles from gasoline to electric. But while Yu is proud of his accomplishments -- they came with a cost. To convert his RR, he had to sell his house to help pay for the project. That didn’t sit well with his wife, who got so fed up with his project she left him, Yu explained.

“Only my neighbor understands what I have been through over the past four years because I forced them to take a look at my work as it progressed daily,” he added. Yu said his newly converted electric Rolls-Royce can run for 500 kilometers on a full charge, adding that it only costs him $8 in electricity to charge the battery compared with $120 to fill his tank with gasoline. Yu said he got the idea to convert his car into an EV after his oldest daughter came home from school one day and gave him some attitude about his driving habits. “You shouldn’t act like a wealthy up in the clouds person by driving a stinky car around town and polluting the air,” is how his daughter put it, according to Yu. “So I started thinking, why don’t I convert the car on my own,” said Yu. “Growing up, I have always been this crazy kid who kept dreaming of doing something ground-breaking in the world -- even if it seems impossible.”

To make his daughter proud, the fifty-year-old engineer began his long and sometimes difficult journey. He found a small team of mechanics and machinists to help him and together they worked on the project almost every day. It’s that team he’s now employed at his new shop.

“We removed all the vehicle components, from the fuel tank to engine to the car exhaust. We aimed to build an electric motor, charger and battery pack for the car,” said Yu,

“Now, I might be the first person in Richmond to convert a luxury car into an electric vehicle.”

Gary Kong
Madison Avenue Agency
+1 917-992-2525
[email protected]