This past weekend Generation180 hosted Ask an EV Owner events at the New York International Auto Show.  We introduced hundreds of potential future electric vehicle owners to our EV Ambassadors who have already made the switch.  We addressed common misconceptions, highlighted benefits, and demystified EV ownership.  Oh yeah, and we had a lot of fun too!  Here’s a look at our top ten favorite things from the show:

#10 – So Many Cars, Trucks, and SUVs

The New York International Auto Show is pretty impressive. With over 600,000 attendees (2019 statistic), they’ve been doing it for over 120 years!  It’s THE place to be to see all of the new vehicles coming to market. See here for everything that was on display: https://autoshowny.com/vehicles/

#9 – Everybody’s Getting into Electrification

Going electric isn’t just for passenger vehicles, the show also highlighted electric transit buses, street sweepers, and refuse collection vehicles, all with zero tailpipe emissions. Just imagine how much quieter (and cleaner) our streets could be!

#8 – Where are all the Family-Sized EVs?

True, things are getting better with new electric compact SUVs and pick-ups coming to market, but where are the electric mini-vans and electric mid-sized three-row SUVs?  In the US, midsized SUVs sold more than 3 million units last year. Hey, auto manufacturers, let’s make it easy for families to go electric too, shall we?

#7 – More Electric Trucks, Some Clever Marketing

Chevrolet had its new electric Silverado pickup truck on display to challenge Ford’s electric Lightning F-150. The Silverado sold over 500,000 units in 2021. Imagine if some of those were electric!  Also, check out Chevy’s creative use of color on its display to highlight its commitment to going electric.

#6 – New EV Brands Coming to Market

There were some new faces at the auto show this year, VinFast and Indie EV both had products on display or on the test track.  Read more about them https://vinfastauto.us/  and https://driveindi.com/.  These slick electric SUVs certainly were turning heads!

#5 – Not Just Four Wheelers

It’s understood: not everyone drives a car. So it was great to see the auto show embrace micro-mobility as part of the experiencer this year.  On-site were representatives of electric scooter and bicycle companies with a test track to actually ride some of these cool two-wheelers.

#4 – Signing the Going Electric Pledge

Seven out of ten show attendees are actually in the market to buy a car… and based on the number of Going Electric Pledges signed during the weekend, everyone is going electric.  Whether new or used, in 1 month or 5 years, electric vehicles are increasingly making it onto car buyers’ shopping lists. But, we can do more.  Right now EVs account for only about 3% of the US market share.   Check out the link here https://generation180.org/going-electric-pledge/ to learn more and sign the Pledge yourself!

#3 – Ride and Drives Galore

Since EVs have zero tailpipe emissions, for the first time ever, the auto show hosted an indoor track for test-rides as part of the show’s 250,000-square-foot EV display. Research shows just riding in an EV can increase an individual’s consideration rate by three times.  The participants’ smiles post-EV ride totally proved this statistic!

#2 – No Idling

Apparently, there is a New York City Administrative Code establishing that “no person should allow the engine of a motor vehicle to idle for longer than three minutes while parking, standing, or stopping.”  After a long day talking about zero tailpipe emissions EVs, we had to laugh at the irony!

EV Ambassadors

There is an old saying in the auto industry, “the car is the star”.  However, I’d argue the EV owners were the highlight.  During the Ask an EV Owner panels, attendees heard first-hand from actual EV owners about the benefits of driving electric.  And did you know, word of mouth has the biggest impact on what vehicle people buy?  These panelists knew what they were talking about based on driving EVs: you could see the audience growing increasingly inspired.

We hope to see you at a future Ask an EV Owner event, either as a panelist or in the audience!  In the meantime, I’d love to hear from you, you can contact me at hello@generation180.org.

— Stuart Gardner, Program Director, Electrify Your Ride