Public to Get Into Drivers Seat at Electric Vehicle Expo

19 May 1998

                        Web Site Launched for NAEVI 98

    SAN FRANCISCO, May 18 -- Electric Vehicle Association of the
Americas, the EV industry association, announced that for the first time the
general public will be able to test drive the auto companies' newest electric
cars at the industry's annual North American EV & Infrastructure Conference,
NAEVI 98, this December in Phoenix, Arizona.
    "A technological revolution is emerging in the automotive industry," said
EVAA executive director Robert T. Hayden.  "The car companies are designing
and starting to sell high-performance vehicles that use electric motors, and
people everywhere are eager to get behind the wheel of these clean, quiet and
energy-efficient EVs."
    The public will be invited to explore the exhibit hall and to put electric
vehicles through their paces on downtown streets on the NAEVI 98 Public Day,
Saturday, December 5.
    Some of the companies showing EVs at NAEVI 98 will be Chrysler, Ford,
General Motors, Honda, Nissan and Toyota.  All types of electric vehicle
technologies will be seen in the displays, including battery-powered EVs,
hybrid EVs and fuel cell EVs, ranging in size from scooters to passenger cars
and light duty trucks, to electric buses.
    The main days of the NAEVI 98 industry conference and exhibition, December
3-4, will draw hundreds of representatives from the auto industry, automotive
suppliers, electric utilities, and government policy makers from federal,
state and local agencies.  As the EV industry's primary conference and trade
show in North America, NAEVI 98 serves as a magnet for many related
activities.  Two of them, Edison Electric Institute's EV Fleet Managers
Conference and the EV industry's Infrastructure Working Council National
Conference, are incorporated in NAEVI 98 as part of the conference program.
    Just prior to the conference opening, the NAEVI 98 Media Day will provide
an opportunity for news media to get the latest stories and interviews with
industry leaders on Wednesday, December 2.
    All events for NAEVI 98 will be at the Phoenix Civic Plaza in the heart of
downtown Phoenix.
    Public admission for the exhibit hall and EV ride-and-drive on December 5
will be $5 (free for children under 12 and senior citizens).
    To help the news media and the public learn more about the event and to
keep up with new developments about it, EVAA has launched a new web site with
regular updates about NAEVI 98.  To access the new site, visit http://www.evaa.org
and click on the NAEVI 98 icon.
    Located in San Francisco, EVAA is the industry association working to
advance the commercialization of electric vehicles powered by batteries,
hybrid power systems and fuel cells in the United States, Canada and Latin
America.  EVAA members are major industry stakeholders, including auto
companies and other vehicle manufacturers, electric utilities, EV components
suppliers, research institutions and government agencies.  EVAA serves as the
industry's central information source on electric vehicles.