Riding the tide

Charlotte chapter meets new challenges from the increase in EV demand

CEVA President Jess Montgomery

Since the recent rise in interest in electric vehicles (EVs), Charlotte Electric Vehicle Association (CEVA) President Jess Montgomery has become the go-to EV expert in the Charlotte, North Carolina area.  He didn’t ask for that job.

”They just started caling me,” Montgomery said, referring to interviews he’s done with the local NPR and NBC stations, as well as with Spectrum 1 and the Mecklenberg County Library System.

”I don’t know if it’s the price of gas, or increasing concern about climate change, or maybe just those Super Bowl ads, but we’ve been trying to ignite interest as a chapter for 8 years, and now it’s finally happened.”

Montgomery has been asked to explain to the public  why Charlotte residents should be interested in driving electric—how EVs save money, how much better they are for the environment, and how they encourage energy independence.

“With Spectrum News, they wanted to do the interview at a public charging station with footage of me plugging in,” Montgomery explained. “I told them they should come to my house instead because most charging happens at single-family homes. They changed their plans.”

In addition to filming in front of the Montgomery house, the Spectrum crew rode with Jess in his Tesla Model 3. “I enjoyed that piece because it really gave folks an idea about what it’s like to live with an EV,” Montgomery said, adding that because his Tesla is in the Beta program for self-driving, the crew was also able to focus on this newer technology. 

Montgomery also appreciated the piece by the NBC affiliate which focused on EV charging from street lights and how this might help with access to electric driving in lower income areas. 

Cars and coffee

Queen City News, Charlotte’s Fox affiliate, recently covered Charlotte Cars and Coffee, a regular event often attended by Montgomery and other CEVA members to promote EVs.  

“Hawker Vanguard is a Fox correspondent who was working on a story about sustainability and climate change and how EVs can make a difference,” Montgomery said. “He interviewed some friends of mine who rent their Teslas, and he was so impressed that he bought his own EV—a Mustang Mach-E—and later showed up at Cars and Coffee, this time as an EV owner. So there he was doing interviews for his show at the same time that folks were asking him about his EV, too.”

Cars and Coffee event

CEVA members have been attending Cars and Coffee events for the past five years. “We had a friend who said his was the only EV there, so we started showing-up to support him,” Montgomery explained  about the event that allows drivers to put their vehicles on display. “There are a lot of Cars and Coffees around the area and Charlotte’s the biggest— it has a huge turnout. You’ll see everything from a Ferrari to a DeLorean to  a Model T. We meet beforehand, usually between 2 and 6 of us.”

Civic hybrid starts things off

Montgomery  purchased a Honda Element when he and his family first moved to Charlotte from Philadelphia, soon realizing that the substantial driving distances in the Queen City necessitated a more fuel-efficient vehicle. 

“We took our Element to the Honda dealership for servicing and we decided to take the Civic hybrid  for a test drive while we were there. We loved it and  we bought it. That set us on our journey to see  how much we can reduce our gas consumption.”

Later, the Montgomery family moved onto multiple Nissan LEAFs, a Chevrolet Volt, and ultimately to two Model 3’s, the first for Jess, the second for his wife. 

“I was at a friend’s house with my Volt and I asked if I could plug-in and my friend was very curious and asked if he could take the car around the block. Two weeks later, he bought one,” Montgomery said. “Two more weeks and he reached out and said ‘These are fantastic. People need to be aware of these cars and I’d like to form a group.’”

Andrew Diamond and Montgomery, along with a third EV enthusiast, Frank Brammer, formed the CEVA Facebook group CEVA Facebook group, hosting a number of National Drive Electric Week (NDEW) events and eventually joining the EVA.

Along with Cars and Coffee and NDEW, CEVA also participates in the annual Tesla Blue Ridge Parkway Drive. “We co-host with the Tesla group,” Montgomery said, explaining that drivers of non-Tesla EVs can also participate. “We meet up in Asheville, generally in the fall to see the leaves, but last year it was  postponed because of the pandemic, so we’re scheduled for April. First we had 60 cars, the next year we had 120.” 

Blue Ridge Parkway Drive in April

Talking it up all the time 

In addition to Montgomery’s recent media appearances, he is also stepping up his advocacy on a personal level. “I’ve got co-workers asking me a lot more questions than usual,” he said about the team he leads at Bank of America. “I’ve been getting complaints from a lot of folks about how much it’s costing to drive into work so I’ve been sending them to energy.gov to learn how to save money on gas. They’ve come back to me wanting more information about their options.” 

“The questions are getting a lot more specific,” Montgomery continued. “What the charging experience is like, what the service experience is like, how it compares to service with a gas-engine vehicle… I helped a co-worker buy a Model Y on her way out of town on vacation. I really do my best to push  folks into doing the right thing.”