Recap: Industry Day at Electrify Expo Long Beach
Electrify Expo’s first Industry Day event in Long Beach featured a number of heavy-hitters from the e-mobility space, including automotive CEOs, storied names from your childhood, and even those two guys up there — CleanTechnica‘s own Jo Borrás (that’s me!) and Loren McDonald, who emceed the event and delivered the opening “State of the Industry” address that looked at when EVs would cross into the mainstream for real — as well as where, and precisely why.
That being when 16% of new car sales in the US are EV or PHEV, which was projected to happen sometime between in late 2024/early 2025 before gas prices spiked a few weeks ago — and it’s just getting closer by the day, helped along by a proliferation of new models led by the biggest EV news of the last year, the on the road right now F-150 Lightning.
Lon and I were just a small part of the bigger picture, though, which included a huge main stage …
… as well a lobby packed with EVs, two “breakout rooms” for more focused discussions, and an outdoor demo area where manufacturers like Lucid, Kia, Aventon, GoCycle, Radio Flyer, NIU, and more were on hand for demo rides and drives.
Loren and I had an absolute blast, overall, but I wanted to share some highlights from my favorite panels and invite everyone to ask questions, make comments, and generally make fun of my stage outfit. Enjoy!
Looking into the Future With DeLorean
My friend Joost De Vries, EV industry veteran and CEO of the reborn DeLorean Motor Cars, was on hand with Ed Kim to talk us through the design choices that led up to the all-new electric DeLorean sportscar, including the execution of a design philosophy that took us from the original 80s icon and into the 90s, 2000s, and 2010s — all the way up to the incredible, 0-88 mph in 4.35 seconds 2023 Alpha V!
Connecting Everything
Bosch VP & General Manager for the Americas, Claudia Wasko, joined EV influencer Bisi Ezerioha and others on stage to discuss some of the ways e-mobility is reinventing sports and lifestyles across the world. Bosch, of course, has a unique role in that conversation, since its electronics and intelligent, connected solutions are ubiquitous in the automotive space, and making significant inroads into e-bikes, smart infrastructure, and consumer wearables as well.
Restomania!
SEMA veteran and operatic powerhouse Peter MacGillivray, AEM’s Kirk Miller, and Everatti’s Amit Chandarana got together on the main stage to talk about EV conversions, restomods, and the technology that’s being developed to drive that cottage industry forward. Special attention was paid, of course, to AEM’s “Testang” rolling testbed and Everatti’s stunning, 800 hp Ford GT40 continuation cars.
Standing Out
With so many e-bikes crowding into the market — and new competitors arriving every week, it seems like! — how do brands stand out? My friend Simon Ohanian, from Aventura-X, joined Radio Flyer Chief Innovation Officer Tom Schlegel, Global Category Leader of Specialized Bikes, Saul Leiken, and my other good friends Juls Bindi from Zugo Bike and Paul Crandell, ex-CMO of GoPro, to talk about the different ways their successful brands found their voice, and how they make sure their signal escapes the noise of the industry.
This was a great one!
Crack an Ag
In this panel, a remarkably attractive moderator interviewed C-level executives from the only two compact tractor companies currently offering electric tractors. This panel was a bit of a shocker, and deserves its own 1000-word article, so I won’t spoil it for you here. What I will say is that agricultural equipment accounts for more than 10% of all greenhouse gas emissions, and I believe it when Solectrac founder and CIO Steve Heckeroth and Monarch Tractor CEO Praveen Penmetsa say that the “greening” of agriculture is the only way to effectively reverse the damage wrought by one hundred years of burning fossil fuels.
I have charts and graphs that back that up, but you’ll have to read the whole article for that.
Lots More
Look, it would be impossible for me to talk to you about everything that happened at Industry Day — it was a great event, with nearly a thousand industry insiders and thought leaders on hand from brands big and small. Worse, as Loren and I were intimately involved in the content and execution of the event, it was doubly difficult to adequately cover the day’s proceedings.
That said, I did my best, snapped a candid of ONYX CEO James Khatiblou up there, and will do my best again to give you a few more snippets, below …
… and, you’re right. I didn’t get any pictures of the Archer eVTOL, or include any coverage of the excellent SOTUs given by SparkCharge and two-time mayor of the City of Emeryville Dianne Martinez, either. It was just too much — but the good news is that we’re doing it again at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, TX, this November, where you’ll be able to meet even more CleanTechnica favorites (and me, too!).
Stay tuned for that one. It’s going to be even better!
Original content from CleanTechnica; Electrify News Podcast.
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