Public Ride and Drive – Sunday May 6
Ever hear of the World Electric Vehicle Association? Neither had we. Until we were reviewing our electric car Google alerts and found some information about the upcoming International Electric Vehicle Symposium (brought to you by the really big name group). Actually, it is organized by the World Electric Vehicle Association. And looking at their web site, they have been sponsoring this event for 26 years, dating back to 1969 – which had to be pre-historic times as regards electric vehicles (EVs). Interestingly enough, only 10 of those previous conferences were held in the United States – so it really does seem to hold up to its lofty title of World Electric Vehicle Association.
So what is this conference all about? Based on a quick look at its website, it’s all about the current state of the EV market. It is a four day conference held at the Los Angeles Convention Center. The schedule shows full days of presentations regarding vehicles, infrastructure, motors, batteries – basically everything involved seemingly anywhere in the chain of EV-dom. What may be of most interest to readers of Living LEAF though is this – the opportunity to drive many EVs that are currently on the market, or will be soon.
Sunday, May 6 from 9:00AM to 5:00PM the general public is invited to register for the event and drive some of the latest entries into the EV segment. The cost is $10 for adults and $5 for children six to 18. Children five or younger are free. Some of the manufacturers who will have vehicles available to drive are not only Nissan and Mitsubishi, but also BYD, Coda, Honda, Mercedes-Benz, and Toyota, among others. Toyota just announced the reintroduction of the RAV4 EV is to be held at the conference, although it is doubtful that Toyota will have that available for the ride and drive.
One of the reasons that we are passing this information along is because the scope of the conference truly seems to be worth checking out if you are in the area and have some time available. As it happens, our day job will prevent us from taking in most of the event, but we will make an effort to take in some of it on Sunday. The conference does seem to make it to the greater Los Angeles area on a semi-regular basis, but the last time it made an appearance was in Anaheim in 2007. It would appear that if you are interested in EVs, it would be well worth your time to check it out as it may not make it back for awhile.