Nine student teams from Viet Nam will take part in an international contest in which participants are required to build special vehicles to achieve the highest possible fuel efficiency, newswire Vietnamplus reported.

The “Shell Eco-marathon Asia” competition, which will be held from February 26 to March 1 in Manila, Philippines, challenges student teams from around the world to design, build and test ultra energy-efficient vehicles.

It attracts more than 100 student teams from 17 countries in the region which will compete in two categories including “Prototype” and “Urban Concept”. The “Prototype” class focuses on maximum efficiency, while the “Urban Concept” class encourages more practical designs.

This year, representatives from Viet Nam are 9 student teams from 7 universities and colleges in Ha Noi, Ho Chi Minh City and Dong Nai province. The winners are the teams that go the furthest using the least amount of energy.

One of the teams which will join the “Shell Eco-marathon Asia” competition held from February 26 to March 1 in Manila, Philippines. (Photo courtesy of Vietnamplus)

Tran Duc Nguyen, leader of IUH-FAST, one of the Vietnamese teams, expressed that the competition creates a helpful playground where participants all focus on a same purpose which is building energy-efficient vehicles.

This is the sixth time Shell Eco-marathon is held in Asia and is the second year the event takes place in Manila. After Philippines, the contest is scheduled for the U.S. from April 9 to 12 and for Europe from May 21 to 24.

Over several days, teams make as many attempts as possible to travel the furthest on the equivalent of one liter of fuel. Cars drive a fixed number of laps around the circuit at a set speed.

Organizers calculate their energy efficiency and name a winner in each class and for each energy source.
Off-track awards recognize other achievements including safety, teamwork and design.

The competition inspires youngsters to turn their vision of sustainable mobility into reality and sparks passionate debate about what could one day be possible for cars on the road.