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The Midwest Electric Vehicle Opportunities: Learning, Events, Experience (Midwest EVOLVE) project is an effort to promote plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) in a seven-state area including Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio, and Wisconsin. This effort educated the general public, workplaces, corporate fleets, and auto dealer staff about the benefits and advantages of PEVs in a variety of settings such as auto shows, ride and drive showcases, dealership trainings, and workplace charging challenges. The seven Clean Cities coalitions partnering to host these events across the Midwest also distributed and analyzed pre-, post-, and follow-up surveys of attendees to determine the outcomes of these outreach efforts.

As of 2018, Midwest EVOLVE has executed a total of 78 ride and drive showcase events, 12 PEV dealership training events, 29 workplace charging challenge showcases, 10 extended test drive programs, 27 PEV forum events, and over 90 educational outreach events. In total, over 90,000 attendees have participated in these events. Notably, the project had displays and ride and drives at the Chicago Auto Show, the Milwaukee Auto Show, the Twin Cities Auto Show, and the Ohio Auto Show in 2018. From the analysis of pre- and post- surveys, the project partners determined that over 21% of those surveyed have purchased a PEV since attending an event. As part of the project, Argonne National Laboratory launched the Evolution Consumer Choice Tool which helps consumers understand the different powertrain technologies and connects them to PEV information on the DOE-supported Alternative Fuels Data Center and FuelEconomy.gov.

Through the Northwest Electric Showcase Project, Forth aimed to double the plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) adoption rates in the Pacific Northwest by 2019 through physical, ‘pop up,’ and virtual online PEV showcases. These showcases were a brand-neutral and sales-free environment that featured ride and drive opportunities which aimed to significantly increase PEV sales. Forth acquired eight different EV models that were used for the ride and drives.

The largest showcase was the semi-permanent “Go Forth Electric Showcase” room in downtown Portland. This room displayed multiple PEV charging stations to view and handle, interactive displays and surveys, educational materials, and the ability to test drive a PEV through a ride and drive experience. Forth also partnered with local organizations to host over 60 mobile showcases at workplaces and community events throughout Oregon and Washington. As of 2019, Forth facilitated over 1,600 test drives and hosted over 6,00 visitors to their showcases.

Plug In America (PIA) partnered with Clean Cities Coalitions in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Vermont to boost consumer awareness and adoption of plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs). The project worked to overcome consumer confusion through educational ride and drive events and PEV showcase events that connected potential PEV owners with local dealers. PIA also explored and tested methods for educating car dealerships and salespeople in order to improve the PEV purchase experience for consumers.

The project succeeded in designing and implementing 42 PEV showcase events that delivered a total of 1,750 individual test ride and drive experiences which exposed over 72,500 individuals to PEVs. These showcases were a combination of community, workplace, and fleet events. Each event included a pre-drive and post-drive survey; the results of which proved the ride and drive experience resulted in a shift toward greater consumer awareness of PEVs. PIA also developed training content and conducted three in-dealership PEV training sessions in the Boston, Massachusetts areas. These sessions included instruction on how to access and use the PEV Dealer Dashboard, a tool that shares information on PEV incentives, utility rates, equipment options and qualified charging station installers.