The 10 Coolest Things We Saw at Electrify Expo
Our electric future will include a high-tech, wheel-driven luxury camper trailer, and lots of eBikes.
Electrify Expo continues to pick up where traditional auto shows have left off. This year’s cross-country Expo tour launched last weekend in Long Beach, California, on its way toward a total of seven stops across the country, each one drawing in people considering buying an electric car, crossover, motorcycle, minibike, scooter, bicycle, skateboards, or even surfboards.
“We have doubled in size compared to Long Beach last year and compared to the whole year last year,” said founder BJ Birtwell. “We’re over a million square-feet now. Just in bike manufacturers alone we have 80. We have 14 or 15 auto manufacturers. We’ll do over 200,000 consumers this year through our gates.”
What’s driving the show’s success?
“There’s peak interest right now in electric vehicles and people wanting to understand: How far do these cars drive? How fast can they charge? Where can I charge? This is the best place to get those questions answered.”
Among the carmakers who have committed to all seven stops across the country is Tesla, newly aware that there is now actual competition from legacy automakers in the EV market, and pivoting from enthusiast support alone to actual marketing.
“How are you going to best maintain market share? By making sure that you’re getting as many butts in seats as possible, because you want people to experience your product. That is the moment that is going to translate to a sale.”
In addition to test drives, there is data to be mined.
“Some auto manufacturers use this as a market research mechanism to understand what consumers are asking, what they’re wanting to learn about, and then they take that back and reformulate marketing communication strategies,” Birtwell said.
And it’s not just Birtwell saying that.
“Electrify Expo is the perfect venue to introduce the award-winning 2023 Outlander Plug-in Hybrid to customers looking to make an initial move into electrified mobility,” said Mark Chaffin, Mitsubishi Motors North America President and CEO.
Kia America showed off its subcompact Niro EV, sporty new EV6 GT, and the three-row Kia EV9.
"Electrify Expo is the premiere gathering for top companies and executives in electrification to share knowledge and discuss how we’ll continue to work toward a seamless transition to all-electrified vehicles,” said Steven Center, COO & EVP at Kia.
Even tire makers got in on the switch to electrification, with Bridgestone debuting its new Turanza EV grand touring tire, designed specifically for premium electric vehicles, and Yokohama sponsoring the new Electrify Showoff custom EV show.
“It’s great to see a new wave of enthusiasts creating a new EV car culture," said Andrew Briggs, Yokohama VP of marketing.
Among the hundreds of products at the show, read on to see what we thought was truly unique and innovative.
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