EcoVelocity: Inaugural Show A Huge Hit

More than 7,000 consumer test drives took place at EcoVelocity – the UK’s first eco motoring festival held at Battersea Power Station last week. Low and ultra low carbon vehicles were driven by members of the public, celebrities and the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson on the bespoke test track at the show. Over 1500 visitors participated in the Honda Racing Bug Activity, while 'Get On' – the campaign to encourage more people to ride motorcycles – introduced 350 visitors to the benefits of riding and took numerous bookings for the future. Meanwhile, the SEAT Young Driver scheme, which allowed children 11 years and older to drive a car, were inundated across all four days of the show and the Honda ‘my first licence’ scheme was fully-booked each day within 15 minutes of opening. The show was officially opened by Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, who said: "It is tremendous that EcoVelocity, the biggest eco car show in Europe, is demonstrating what is available right now as well as the future of clean, green motoring. It fits perfectly into my plan to make London the electric vehicle capital of Europe." Giles Brown, event organiser, said: "EcoVelocity was a first of its kind; the objective was to raise the profile of the latest low and ultra-low carbon cars by providing a very ‘hands on’ environment for visitors. The event culminated in a very busy ride-and-drive event. As a launch show, it was impossible to predict visitor numbers; our original forecast was too high. The currency exhibitors use to judge the event is with quality test drives and leads, not just footfall. It was abundantly clear that we delivered those in spades, with car makers providing, on average, 400 test drives during the show period. Our objective going forward is to find a way to increase event capacity and, in turn, increase overall visitor numbers." And manufacturers were also very happy with the inaugural event. Neville Staines, National Events Manager for Citroen, commented: "EcoVelocity proved to be a big success for Citroen, with more than 440 test drives completed over the four days.  We also took a considerable number of high-quality sales leads, with interest not just in C-Zero (our full electric car) but also for our full range of low-emission vehicles. Considering this was the first time the show has taken place, I could not be happier with the results." Volkswagen UK’s Kate Thompson commented: "Volkswagen UK was very pleased with the EcoVelocity event.  We were able to meet a large number of visitors, who showed a keen interest in our BlueMotion products and brand as well as the chance to demonstrate these vehicles’ performance on the test track." Sue Goddard, Conference and Events Manager, Honda Cars, said: "EcoVelocity provided an excellent platform for Honda to showcase its Hybrid range of cars." And Lance Bates, Toyota and Lexus GB commented: "For us, it was a cost effective way to not only build awareness of but also to showcase and demonstrate our Hybrid technology. It also gave the opportunity for visitors to the show to be among the first in the U.K to test drive the all new Yaris. Considering this was the first time the event has been staged, we were pleased at the number of test drives achieved across both brands." Well done to the Ecovelocity team... and roll on 2012, where no doubt the innovations rapidly developing in the EV and hybrid marketplace will make the event even bigger and better.