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Anthony Brennan and I flew over to Dublin at the weekend for the Nevo EV Show at the RDS. We went to see some of our customers in Ireland, and it was great to catch up face to face. But the thing I keep coming back to isn't a car. It's how hard everyone there worked to help buyers understand what owning an EV is really like.
More than a car show
There were more than 140 electric vehicles on show, and the car makers turned out in force. That's what you'd expect at a motor show.
What I didn't expect was how much of the floor went to everything around the car. The people behind charging, home energy and finance were there too, side by side with the brands. That matters, because a buyer isn't only choosing a car. They're working out how they'll charge it, what it will cost to run and whether it fits their life.
Nevo put it all under one roof, so you could get your answers to all of that in a single afternoon.
The questions buyers actually have
The centre of it was the Nevo x Bank of Ireland Meet the Experts lounge. It ran live Q&A sessions and panels on the questions buyers actually ask: home charging and battery technology, public charging, grants, running costs and choosing the right EV.
One of the panels we caught was "The Business Case for Going Electric". None of it was a sales pitch. It was people who know the subject answering questions, in plain language, in front of an audience that clearly wanted to know.
Education is key when it comes to selling EVs.
Seeing it, then driving it
Talking only gets you so far. The ESB Live Demo Area had industry experts walking people through new models, and the myenergi Driving Experience let visitors get behind the wheel. Nevo's own aim for the test drives was to clear up the misconceptions people still have about owning an EV.
That rings true. A lot of the doubt about EVs comes from never having driven one. Ten minutes behind the wheel answers questions that a spec sheet can't.
What it means for dealers
Ireland is going a long way to educate the customer, and you could feel the difference in the room. People weren't only browsing. They were asking good questions and getting good answers.
For a dealer, the lesson is simple. The buyer who isn't sure about an EV usually isn't saying no. They're saying "explain it to me first". Your team can do that on the forecourt. Your website has to do it before they ever get there, on the vehicle page, at the moment they're wondering about range, battery health, charging or cost.
We wrote about how retailers on Autonomy do that in Teach the EV buyer, then sell to them. Nevo was a good reminder of why it matters.
Thanks, Dublin
Thanks to everyone who stopped to chat over the weekend, and to the Nevo team for putting on such a useful show. We came home with plenty to think about.
If you'd like to talk about how your website helps EV buyers make up their minds, speak to the team.
