EcoVelocity Reveal Green Car Champions
At EcoVelocity 2012, the ground breaking eco-car show that “showcases the car industry’s latest ‘clean-technology’ vehicles available in the market place today”, visitors were asked which manufacturer they considered the ‘greenest’ – and according to them, Honda as the automotive brand they perceive to be the greenest.
However, when the survey was split between men and women, the results were slightly different, as Giles Brown, EcoVelocity managing director, explains: “There may well be some arguing before a buying decision is made – men placed Honda at the top, followed by Toyota and Vauxhall, while women put Nissan at the top of their list, followed by Vauxhall, with Peugeot and Honda in joint third place.”
But when the results were combined, Honda came out top, with Vauxhall in second place, Nissan in third, Mia Electric fourth and Toyota in fifth place. Not that this translated to future sales. When pushed as to what their next purchase was likely to be, Vauxhall came first, followed by Toyota and BMW.
Leaving us with the question? Is it better to be considered green or accepted?
But we’ll leave that to Honda to sort out.
Giles Brown, EcoVelocity MD commented: “The Vauxhall Ampera was certainly one of the stars of the show, it’s a vehicle that delivers a no compromise option for motorists wanting to purchase a greener and cleaner vehicle.”
Obviously, EcoVelocity was a good place to ask these questions; after all, The show is structured to inform and educate visitors on green motoring technologies and provide numerous opportunities for test drives.
“Not since the Motor Show have motorists attended an event aimed at demonstrating the latest models from mainstream manufacturers, and clearly sampling the latest technology including electric, hybrid and even hydrogen vehicles was the motivating factor,” said Giles Brown.
Research from the near 58,000 show, up sevenfold from 2011 and sponsored by EDF Energy, visitors highlighted that the largest single motivation for visiting EcoVelocity was to see and test drive the latest vehicles, ranking above money saving and environmental concerns, show organisers are suggesting that this market is currently lead by early technology adopters.
Car makers involved in the show included Chevrolet, Citroen, Peugeot, Nissan, Honda, Mia and Vauxhall as well as Fisker Karma, The Lightning Car Co, Tesla and Delta; and there were a lot of compliments about the show.
“Ecovelocity this year proved that there is now real interest in electric vehicles and an understanding by the general public that our driving habits need to change. We were amazed at the level of knowledge and understanding of EVs exhibited by the show goers, very different from last year. We carried out over 650 test drives during the show which means our three electric demonstrators were on the go all the time. We are looking forward to next year’s event,” commented Paul Evans, Mia-Electric UK.
“Stronger in attendance and more quality leads was the bottom line for EcoVelocity 2012.” said Paul Ormond, General Manager, Corporate Affairs, Honda UK.
Lee Newton, Managing Director of Organising Event Company Media 10 commented, “We are thrilled with the success of Ecovelocity in its first year under the Media 10 umbrella. This is a market that we see huge potential in and the demand for test drives over the nine days shows that there is a huge appetite for consumers wanting to learn more and potentially purchase a more sustainable vehicle. We see the future for Ecovelocity as involving not just cars but all forms of transport and this first outing for us could not have provided a more successful platform to explore these routes.”
EcoVelocity 2013 will take place at ExCeL in May 2013, where new data and opinions will be researched.