There's no question in anyone's mind that as the world becomes more environmentally aware, the influx of electric vehicles will grow exponentially. So, since this wave of technology is still in its infancy stage, everybody's gearing up to plug the supposed holes that come with EVs. One such hole is the extent of an EV's battery life and one organization - or club, in this instance - may have come across a breakthrough after their customized Mira EV, which was powered by a Sanyo lithium-ion battery, was able to travel 1,003.84 kilometers without charging the battery. Mighty impressive, right?

Not for these guys. Before posting this record run, the folks from Japan EV Club posted a 555.6 km drive last month, going from Tokyo to Osaka without having to charge the battery. T his time, though, the club was able to almost double the distance with the Sanyo lithium-ion battery, which was designed by assembling 8,320 cylindrical lithium-ion batteries and produced enough power to run the Mira EV for over 27 hours at a cruising speed of 40 km/h.

Way to go, fellas!

Press Release after the jump

SANYO Electric Co., Ltd. (SANYO) is pleased to announce that Mira EV powered by SANYO lithium-ion battery systems achieved a travel distance of 1,003.184 km, breaking its own Guinness World Record for the longest journey without recharging.

The trial run was provided by Japan Electric Vehicle Club (Japan EV Club), and implemented at a training school for auto racers in Ibaraki, Japan during May 22 to 23, 2010. The Mira EV has already achieved a 555.6 km run without recharging from Tokyo to Osaka, Japan on November 17, 2009, with this travel distance of 555.6 km having been officially recognized as the Guinness World Record this past April.

The SANYO lithium-ion battery systems employed in the Mira EV were designed by assembling 8,320 cylindrical lithium-ion batteries (18650-type) which are normally used in laptops etc, similar to the configuration used in the April record.

SANYO continues to improve its lithium-ion battery technology as it contributes to realizing a low carbon society.