Press Release
Electric Vehicle Association Announces EV Conference and Expo
12/10/96
NAEVI '96 Showcases World's Newest Electric Vehicles -Largest N. American Electric Vehicle Conference Dec. 11-13 in San Diego- -World's top Automakers Will Show Newest Electric Cars and Trucks- SAN DIEGO, Dec. 6 -- "Electric vehicles are for real and the world's biggest automakers are real about electric vehicles," declares Robert T. Hayden, executive director of the Electric Vehicle Association of the Americas (EVAA), sponsor of the largest electric vehicle conference in North America -- to be held December 11-13 at the Sheraton Hotel & Marina in San Diego. The North American EV & Infrastructure Conference (NAEVI '96) will bring together hundreds of EV professionals and supporters, including utility personnel, automakers, equipment manufacturers, fleet operators, government and environmental representatives, and academics. A record number of exhibitors and attendees are expected. San Diego, says Hayden, "could not be a better venue for this year's conference because it's right in the heart of the first EV retail market." General Motors will be showing off it sleek electric-powered sports car, the EV1, which is being marketed at Saturn dealerships in Southern California and Arizona. Also at the conference will be Ford's Ranger EV electric pickup, Chrysler's Epic minivan, Toyota's RAV4-EV sports utility vehicle, and Honda's Honda EV. "The electric vehicle industry is charged up," says Hayden. "You'll see that in all the products that will be on display in San Diego. Even the skeptics will be impressed. "The conference theme, `Accelerating to Market,' reflects the fact that EV's are now crossing the threshold to commercialization," says Hayden. The world's top automakers all will be showing vehicles they are now marketing or soon will market in the U.S." At the San Diego conference, topics will include: advances in battery technology, communities that are successfully making themselves EV-ready, charging systems, impact of EVs on electric utilities, fleet management and safety and air quality issues. The list of four dozen exhibitors at NAEVI '96 includes General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, Toyota, Honda and Nissan. Media test drives and press conferences with manufacturers will be held from 9 a.m. to noon on Wednesday, December 11. Enthusiasm about electric vehicles is building around the world. In mid-October, more than 1600 people attended the 13th International Electric Vehicle Symposium, held in Osaka, Japan. In a keynote address, "The Electric Vehicle: The Challenge of The Next Century," Toyota Motor Company Chairman Shoichyiro Toyoda termed the 21st century, "the environmental century" and called on automakers to make it their "mission to promote electric vehicles throughout the world as we move toward the 21st century." For more information about NAEVI '96 in San Diego, contact EVAA's Leah Reich at 415-249-2690 or NAEVI '96 Conference Manager Pam Turner at 415-548-9464. Or, check out the EVAA Web site at www.evaa.org. Located in San Francisco, EVAA is an international industry association working to advance the commercialization of electric vehicles in the United States, Canada and Latin America. EVAA's members include major auto companies, electric utilities, manufacturers of batteries and other EV components, universities, the U.S. Department of Energy, national EV industry associations and governments in other countries throughout the American hemisphere. The association serves as a clearinghouse for information about electric vehicles.