The inaugural Lewes Electric Car Show held on Saturday 21 April and it was a huge success, attracting around 400 members of the public.
In total 13 electric and hybrid cars were on display at the event hosted by Transition Town Lewes and local community energy company OVESCO. Models included the Tesla S, the Nissan Leaf, the Hyundai Ioniq, Renault Zoe, Kia Soul and Smart Car, plus other cars by BMW, Toyota and Mitsubishi.
Visitors were able to quiz the owners about the practicalities of owning and driving an electric car and compare data for each model on real world mileage, charging times, speed and emission data. Talking to the owners gave non-electric car drivers reassurance on common concerns such as “range anxiety” – how far they would be able to travel and how they would be able to charge their car if it ran out of power unexpectedly.
OVESCO’s Technical Director, Nick Rouse, explained how he generates electricity from his PV panels to charge his Smart Car. OVESCO’s Managing Director, Chris Rowland, demonstrated how easy it is to use Co-wheels, as an alternative to owning a car. Chris said; ‘car clubs can help reduce the number of cars on our roads and owning a car is not the necessarily the most desirable or cost-effective option’
The range of cars on display can be seen in the quick video below.
None of the owners at the show had ever required rescue because of flat batteries and they emphasised how your driving behaviour adapts to energy management.
Transition Town Lewes and OVESCO hope to run a similar event again in 2019.
