Last year’s attendance more than doubled from the year before, to 90,000 participants at 152 events in 150 cities in 39 states as well as Canada, Italy, and The Netherlands. The event in Cupertino, CA even earned a listing in the Guinness Book of World Records for having the most all-electric vehicles in a parade, with a procession of 507 whirring jitneys.
This year there will be more than 20 plug-in cars and motorcycles on display. The press release below has more information, and Chris Paine, director of Who Killed the Electric Car, has a video appeal above.
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Jan., 20, 2015-Dates have been set for the fifth annual National Drive Electric Week: Sat., Sept. 12 through Sun., Sept. 20, 2015. Events will encompass two weekends to give planners maximum flexibility and consumers plenty of opportunity to attend.
“Last year we saw U.S. plug-in vehicles sales grow 23 percent, lead by the Nissan Leaf growing at 34 percent, while the overall U.S. market grew at about 6 percent,” said Tom Saxton, Plug In America’s chief science officer. “This year, 2015, promises to be even more electrifying. The BMW i3 will be on the road for its first full year, we expect deliveries of the Tesla Model X, an updated Chevy Volt, and greater overall sales growth than we saw last year. We’ll have lots to celebrate and to share with new EV audiences.”
National Drive Electric Week is a grassroots observance designed to accelerate adoption of plug-in vehicles through hands-on experiences with electric cars and motorcycles. Plug In America, the Sierra Club and the Electric Auto Association are national organizers teaming up with local groups across the country and abroad to organize events.
“Electric cars are a key part of our country’s clean energy future, and they’re a lot of fun to drive,” said Gina Coplon-Newfield, Director of the Sierra Club’s Electric Vehicles Initiative.”We’re revved up for National Drive Electric Week 2015, which will offer the public, the media, and policymakers a great opportunity to come check out many of the 20-plus plug-in vehicles on the market.”
Drive Electric Week attendance in 2014 more than doubled that of the previous year’s celebration with over 90,000 people participating in 152 events across the country and abroad. The event was launched in 2011 in 29 cities.
