Drive Electric Week Down Under

September 26, 20213 years ago David Waterworth 0 Comments

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What a fantastic day of inquisitive participants! The hard work of Jon Day and the Australian Electric Vehicles Association certainly paid off with the largest gathering of electric vehicles and allied industries in Australia to date.

Drive Electric Week Down Under — David holding court. Photo courtesy of Majella Waterworth.

I must point out that this was privately organized by and for community groups. Not a politician in sight. The closest we got to government participation was the lone hydrogen-powered Hyundai from QFleet.

Drive Electric Week Down Under. Photo courtesy of Majella Waterworth.

The kids raced around the adjacent field on electric dirt bikes while the parents talked with owners. There were 80 EVs present at the AEVA expereince day yesterday, and 15 EV owners gave 150 ish test drives. There were test drive ride-alongs in the Teslas, the hydrogen car, the Hyundais, BMWs and Porsches that were on offer.

In the pavilion were exhibitors from the Australian Conservation Foundation, Solar Citizens, battery manufacturers, electric outboard boat outfitters, Jaguar, MG, the QUT solar racer, lots of charging retailers, and, of course, Tesla.

I did the occasional walk and took lots of photos, but spent most of my time stationed near my car to talk to the many people who stopped with questions. The field we parked in was full of cars surrounded by groups of people quizzing the owners and drivers wanting answers to questions like — How do you charge? Where do you charge it? What’s it cost? What is the range of the car? I loved starting with the comment: we just got back from Winton. The listeners usually did a double take as they digested how far that was. Then, I followed up with, and it cost me $40.

It was wonderful how many people recognized the car or who commented, “You’re the people who just drove out to Winton and back — I read about you on CleanTechnica!”

In all, I would say that Majella and I talked to over a 100 people today.

Sitting at home enjoying a lovely glass of South Australian red wine, we are reflecting on what a great day it was, how tired our voices are, and how sore our feet feel.

Drive Electric Week Down Under. Courtesy of Nathan Merritt of Ride4U.com.au.