NRMA kicks off public EV drive days in Ku-ring-gai
27 July, 2022
The NRMA’s first electric vehicle drive days were opened to the public over the weekend of July 23-24, bringing thousands to Sydney's north to learn about, discuss and experience EVs first-hand.
Run at Honda’s HART driver training centre in the northern Sydney suburb of St Ives, these drive days forge a crucial part of the NRMA's commitment to improve Australians' education, experience and accessibility to EVs by giving public and private sectors access to test drive popular models and speak to industry experts.
Big name EV brands were present at the event, including Tesla, Hyundai, Kia, Audi, Polestar, MG and Nissan, with 15 vehicles supplied for keen drivers to get behind the wheel of an EV – many for the first time.
The test drives, booked out weeks in advance, saw a constant stream of 415 drivers complete more than 500 test drives, covering more than 1000km as they wound around the purpose-built test loop.
Emma Harrington, CEO of the NRMA's Motoring and Membership organisation, spoke to the importance of the event:
"EV drive days are part of a broader initiative to help the transition to EV,' Ms. Harrington explains. 'The NRMA is incredibly passionate to be the co-pilot for people and businesses to transition during one of the most exciting changes in mobility.
"We’re holding 20 public drive days where you can drive an EV and learn about what it means to own and run an EV."
While a large share of visitors attended to experience driving an electric vehicle (or put themselves on a reserve list in case of any no-shows), just as many were eager to explore the stalls and ask questions of the experts on-hand. Representatives from Simply Energy, NHP, EVSE and the Australian Electric Vehicle Association fielded questions from Australians wanting to know how EVs are charged today and will be in the future.
The Tesla Owners Club of Australia provided personal accounts of what to expect from long-term EV ownership, while The Good Car Company explained its unique approach to making EVs more affordable, and NRMA-owned car rental company SIXT discussed its expanding fleet of EVs.
The NRMA's own EV experts were available to discuss technical ins and outs and also inform visitors about the organisation's growing fast charger network and recent acquisition of the Chargefox network.
Inquisitive visitors ranged from those who confessed to know nothing about EVs through to those with complex and curly questions for the NRMA team – everything from charger compatibility through to how fast-charging affects the longevity of batteries and what sort of energy mix would be necessary when EVs are the dominant vehicle type on our roads.
"[The event] has been fantastic in terms of informing and getting people onboard with the transition in our communities and the way we are going to move in the new technologies in cars," attendee Tara told the NRMA.
The next EV drive day will be run in Wagga Wagga in Central NSW on 17-18 September. Be sure to check our EV drive days page regularly for more info and to register for a test drive!
