Electric vehicles aren’t just for climate nerds.
That was the underlying message of this year’s Electrify Expo, a multi-city event promoting electric cars, bikes, motorcycles, and other battery-powered modes of transportation.
Marketers from Ford, Nissan, Toyota, and others are working to clear up consumers’ confusion around charging and simplify the switch from internal combustion engines to electric. But they’re also hoping to tap into a group of buyers that’s been skeptical of EVs: political conservatives.
“EVs, unfortunately, have been politicized,” BJ Birtwell, CEO and founder of Electrify Expo, told ADWEEK during the event in Austin, Texas. Over the last year, Birtwell said, his impression is that the event has seen “tremendous growth” among conservatives, based on conversations he’s had on the ground with attendees.
Bringing EVs to the masses
The Electrify Expo allows people to “engage with your vehicles, learn about your vehicles, [and] drive your vehicles without as much of a sales-y experience,” explained Jack Warren, account executive at GMR Marketing, the agency that produced Nissan’s activation at the Electrify Expo.
More automakers sign onto the three-year-old event each year in the hopes of getting more “butts in seats” of battery-powered cars. This year, six new auto brands joined the event, with at least three more slated for 2025, for a total of 23. During the two-day stop at Austin’s Circuit of the Americas—one of eight cities the festival visited this year—around 25,000 people attended.
“Butts in seats” is an oft-repeated phrase within communities of EV enthusiasts, shorthand for the idea that people will be more swiftly won over by how fun it is to drive EVs rather than how good the cars are for the environment.
Nearly 14 million EVs were sold globally in 2023, according to data from Accenture. That’s a 35% year-over-year increase, but a slower increase than the 55% jump in 2022 or the 121% increase in 2021.
“Electrify Expo has been extremely important for us in terms of building awareness,” said Tom Somerville, marketing director, for what Ford calls “enthusiast” electric vehicles. “Experience is one of the best foundations for helping to communicate—or dispel preconceived notions—around electric vehicles.”
The kinds of people interested in electric vehicles are “constantly changing,” Somerville said. “We’re trying to meet people where they are. Not only product changes, but also some of the messaging changes.”
