Drive Electric Earth Day
Sustainable Seaside Earth Day EV Test Ride, Drive, & Display Fair
Seaside, CA
Apr 23, 2023
| Day: | Sunday, April 23, 2023 NOTE: this event has already happened, find current-year events on the Attend page. |
| Time: | 1:00 - 4:00 pm PDT |
| Location: | Seaside City Hall 440 Harcourt Ave Seaside, CA 93955 |
Event Report
The EVs For Everyone | EVs Para Todos initiative powered by Ecology Action hosted a Drive Electric Earth Day EV Ride, Drive & Display Show at the Sustainable Seaside Earth Day Event on Sunday April 23rd from 1pm-4pm at Seaside City Hall. This free event was a celebration of the many benefits of driving electric by showcasing a variety of plug-in electric cars, buses, trucks, and motorcycles. English and Spanish speaking EV experts staffed and volunteered at this event to answer any questions attendees had and to help conduct the test-drives. Attendees were able to test drive the latest electric vehicles, peruse a variety of BEVs and PHEVs on display, talk to EV owners from the community, and learn about the various local, regional, and national incentives available to help folks transition! Thanks to additional funding from Electrify America and Plug-In America, EVs For Everyone was able to partner with Epicenter Cycling in Monterey to offer an e-bike giveaway. Any event attendee who engaged directly with one of our EV booths could fill out a post-event survey to enter for a chance to win a Trek Verve+ 2 Lowstep sized to their preference with a free bike helmet and lock! Attendance at the overall Seaside Earth Day event reached an estimated attendance of 500 community members throughout the afternoon, with an estimated 300 unique and direct engagements tracked across our EV Resources Booth, the EV Test-Drive Check-in Booth, and our volunteer EV Display owners' static show.
12 different BEV models were available for test-driving representing 9 different makes:
- 2023 Nissan Ariya, 2023 Nissan Leaf, 2023 Kia EV6 and 2023 Kia Niro EV provided by My Nissan/My Kia in Salinas
- 2023 Hyundai Ioniq 6, 2023 Hyundai Ioniq 5, and 2023 Chevrolet Bolt EUV provided by Premier Hyundai and Chevrolet of Seaside
- 2023 BMW iX Electric provided by BMW of Monterey
- 2023 Ford Mustang Mach-e provided by Cypress Coast Ford
- 2023 VinFast VF8 City Edition brought all the way down from VinFast Hillsdale up in San Mateo!
- 2018 Tesla Model 3 provided by volunteer EV hero Michael Saint
- Ecology Action's very own 2022 VW ID.4 Pro fleet vehicle
36 different people went on a collective total of 75 unique test-drives. We did not specifically track the number of passengers riding along, but it is estimated that a majority of the 75 test-drives conducted contained at least one additional passenger. We tracked the number of unique drivers by requiring each driver to sign a waiver and fill out a Pre Test-Drive survey before they could get a green wristband that would allow them to test drive any of the available vehicles. We tracked the number of test drives based on the number of times each car left on a test-drive throughout the day. Each person could only test drive each vehicle once.
Our EV showcase of 12 different vehicles was entirely staffed by volunteer EV owners from the community, with the exception of an electric transit bus that was staged by the Monterey-Salinas Transit. Volunteer provided EVs on display included:
- 2 e-motorcycles
- vintage retrofitted electric VW bus
- brand new Ford F-150 Lightning electric pick-up truck
- Nissan Ariya
- Hyundai Kona EV
- Ford Mustang Mach-e
- Ford Escape PHEV
- BMW i3
- and 2 Chevrolet Bolt EVs
Name and Title of Public Officials in Attendance:
- Dave Pacheco, Seaside Mayor Pro Tem, emceed.
- Ian Oglesby, Seaside Mayor, opening remarks.
- Alexis Garcia-Arrazola, Rita Burks, and Alex Miller, Seaside City Council members, were present.
- Wendy Root-Askew, District 4 County Supervisor, gave some remarks.
- John Uy, Bill Ragsdale-Cronin, Kim Shirley - Del Rey Oaks City Council members - participated in the Trashion Show.
- George Riley, Monterey Peninsula Water Management District Board member, participated in the Trashion Show.
- Kristen Molle (Chair) and Laura Murphy, Seaside's Environmental Commissioners, hosted an info booth.
- Bobby Maxwell and Dianne Nielson, Seaside Recreation and Parks Commissioners, hosted an info booth and a tree-planting demo/giveaway.
photo by: Ecology Action Foreground (from right to left): 2018 Tesla Model 3 (blue), 2022 VW ID.4 Pro (black) Background (from right to left): BMW i3 (black), Chevrolet Bolt EV (blue), Nissan Ariya (tan) Tabling at the booth are Adriana Andrade (Ecology Action Staff) and Sebastien Garbe (Ecology Action Staff). |
Event Description
Ecology Action is hosting an Electric Vehicle (EV) Ride, Drive & Display Show alongside Sustainable Seaside's Earth Day Event. This FREE event is a celebration to raise awareness of the many benefits of electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid cars, trucks, and motorcycles.
Spanish speaking EV experts on hand to help you.
Attendees will be able to test drive the latest electric vehicles, peruse a variety of EV cars on display, talk to EV owners, learn about the benefits of driving electric, and more.
EVENT ACTIVITIES:
TEST DRIVES
Drop-ins are welcome or Pre-Sign Up for a test drive here: https://signup.com/go/EWLzjZw
EVs available for test driving include:
2018 Tesla Model 3
2022 VW ID.4
2023 Chevrolet Bolt EUV
2023 Hyundai Ioniq 5
2023 Hyundai Ioniq 6
2023 Kia EV6
2023 Nissan Ariya
and more!
EV SHOWCASE
Electric vehicles showcase of up to 20 cars, motorcycles, and EV owners on hand to share their driving experiences and all answer your questions on charging, range, maintenance, and vehicle prices.
FUN GAMES
Play Fun Games while learning something new about EVs at our Spin the Wheel & Cornhole stations for a Chance to Win Prizes
LEARN ABOUT EV BENEFITS
Experts and resources on hand to learn about EV financial incentives, including federal, state, local rebates, and PG&E’s NEW Pre-Owned Rebate! Get all your EV questions answered in one-stop.
Learn how to get free EV Purchase Guidance Assistance through EVs for Everyone.org
Registered Attendees
There are currently 18 attendees registered.
Registered attendees report 13,000 electric miles driven.
