EV plea to Ministers as town hosts motor show
MORE than 20,000 people are expected to arrive in Harrogate later this month for one of the country’s major motor shows, as the car industry calls for the Government to help more private buyers to switch to electric.
The Everything Electric North event will run at the Yorkshire Event Centre from May 24-26 and will feature most of the electric vehicles (EVs) on the market.
Many industry experts will be on hand to chat to visitors and there will be more than 50 live theatre sessions.
Organisers say the first event last year drew 15,000 people and this year’s is expected to be bigger. It has now been rebranded as Everything Electric North.
The event comes amid a surge of interest in electric vehicles. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) called April a ‘brighter’ month for electric vehicle registrations, which grew by 10.7 per cent and increased EV market share to 16.9 per cent, up on the 15.4 per cent it occupied in April 2023.
Plug-in hybrids recorded the strongest growth of all the ‘electrified’ vehicles with registrations increasing by 22.1 per cent, while demand for regular hybrids grew by 16.7 per cent.
However, with fewer than one-insix new electric vehicles heading to private buyers, the SMMT says that ‘urgent’ action is required to promote EVs to consumers.
SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said: “A reinvigorated new car market is delivering more choice and affordability for used car buyers and, increasingly, they are choosing to go electric.
“To enable even more drivers to enjoy the benefits of zero-emission motoring, ensuring both supply and demand remains robust is essential.
“Incentivising new EV uptake and investing in a chargepoint network that is accessible, available and affordable to all will drive the nation’s net-zero transition.”
Robert Llewellyn, one of the presenters of the show, said: “There has been a real rise in interest among customers. Everywhere we go we can feel people are becoming more convinced that EV is the way forward.”
Mr Llewellyn, most noted for his role in Red Dwarf and for presenting the engineering gameshow Scrapyard Challenge, said he was hopeful the Yorkshire event would attract 20,000 people.
IA Electric Vehicles will publicly launch their new premium, midsized SUV, the Skywell BE11, at the event. Among the other vehicles on display will be MG’s all-electric Cyberster Roadster.
Former Top Gear presenter Quentin Willson and Just Have a Think’s Dave Borlace lead the lineup for the live theatre sessions.
The re-brand of this event and a series of global exhibitions enables the organisers to better target the early mainstream market, as well as its ardent YouTube followers, as they seek to attract more attendees to their second show in Harrogate.
The extended EV Test Drive Experience will offer thousands of electric test drives. There will also be test rides available on a range of electric bikes, scooters and skateboards plus plenty of family-fun with a sustainable Lego city, circus skills and fairground rides.
■ For more details, visit: https:// uk.everythingelectric.show/