Bridgestone sparks partnership with EVolocity

New Zealand’s most trusted tyre brand, Bridgestone, has committed to a Gold partnership with the EVolocity competition for secondary school students.

EVolocity sees schools from all around New Zealand design and build electric vehicles using a standard 350 Watt motor kit, to then compete against each other in a series of trials that factor in aerodynamic drag, speed and manoeuvrability.

Students take part in regional events throughout the country, all aiming to make the national finals held in November.

Bridgestone sees EVolocity as a perfect partnership, aligning seamlessly to its global ‘Our
Way to Serve’ corporate social responsibility platform, focusing on: people, mobility
and the environment.

“EVolocity is a fantastic initiative to drive interest in areas of Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) from high-school students, and Bridgestone understands the importance of supporting programs that foster innovation and ideas from young people,” said Bridgestone’s Director of New Zealand Business, John Staples.

“Bridgestone sees great value in the EVolocity programme. It is more than just a sponsorship for us, it is an investment into the development of sustainable mobility for the future, and more importantly, the bright young minds that will create it.”

EVolocity says the support of Bridgestone is exactly the kind of partnership they look for and is built around common goals.

“It’s about opening young people’s eyes to the possibilities of engineering careers, encouraging innovation and inventiveness. It’s also about turning the drivers of both today and tomorrow onto electric vehicles and understanding the technology behind it,” said EVolocity CEO, Debbie Baker.

The leading tyre brand is also the naming rights sponsor of the Bridgestone World Solar
Challenge – a biennial event where university students from around the world traverse
Australia in specially designed, self-built solar vehicles, covering the 3,000km from Darwin to
Adelaide.

“New Zealand has been under-represented in the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge in
recent times, so one of the aims of the EVolocity partnership is to inspire the next generation
of engineers and ultimately see an entry from a New Zealand university in the coming
years,” Mr Staples added.

A survey of past EVolocity participants showed a significant rise in STEM skills and interest, with 90 per cent of respondents learning new engineering skills, 73 per cent gain new electronic skills, and more than half of them fully understand the benefits of electric vehicles, as well as developing team project skills.

According to Bridgestone Australia & New Zealand Managing Director, Stephen Roche, EVolocity is a prime example of how Bridgestone gives back to the communities it operates within.

“We’re excited by this new partnership with EVolocity because it fosters the skills required for the development of sustainable mobility, and is a demonstration of Bridgestone’s ongoing contribution to a more sustainable society,” Mr Roche said.

“EVolocity is an ideal extension of our Bridgestone World Solar Challenge partnership because it speaks to the same core values as our global sponsorship and has proven to encourage students’ interest and knowledge in sustainable mobility.”

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