It was hard to believe that 18 months had passed since the previous Everything Electric South event took place in Farnborough. This year things were a little bit different and a little bit cooler. In this Everything Electric South 2024 review we will have a look back at the build up to the event and at the show itself. There was a lot that went on, so let’s get started.
Building Up
Any good event always has a lot going on behind the scenes. When it comes to the biggest annual electric vehicle event in the world, the work intensifies even more. This is long before the event itself has even started. One thing that does become very clear in the build up is that the Everything Electric team is very efficient. Despite working with numerous other businesses and organisations, they were always very quick to resolve any issues that may occur at any time.
Deciding which vehicles to take is always a tricky problem that comes up early on. After all, EVision has so many great electric vehicles. Some of which are rarely seen on the road. It was decided eventually that the EVision Electric Vehicles stars of the show would be the new Rivian R1S, the Ford F150 Lightning, the new MG ZS and the Porsche Macan 4.
Everything Electric was delighted and excited that we were committing to bringing these vehicles. They are all very popular and would help draw in the crowds. In fact, we were asked if the Porsche Macan 4 could be presented on the Live EV Arena stage with the Fully Charged team. We wanted to show off the Porsche, so of course we said yes.
There was one slight hiccup though.
Our Porsche Macan 4 is Missing
When you are presenting a car at a show, there is one important element that cannot be overlooked. You have to actually have the car. Unfortunately for us, the Porsche Macan was taking longer than expected to leave the manufacturers and be dispatched to the UK. A couple of nail-biting weeks would ensue.
When news came through that the car had reached the port in Germany ready to be shipped across the water our nerves were calmed. After all, this was nearly two weeks prior to the show. Plenty of time. Or so we thought. The Porsche Macan was enjoying its time in Germany and it didn’t want to come home. With just over a week to go, the Macan was finally heading to England and would arrive on our shores within a few hours. Panic over, right? Wrong.
Our next headache comes in the form of customs in the UK. On the previous Thursday we found out that the Macan was with customs in Sheerness and that it would take a couple of days to pass through. The weekend comes and goes with no new news on Monday. Tuesday… no new news. The Macan was still stuck in customs. Wednesday arrives and it is the same story. Were we going to get the car to the show in time? Read on in our Everything Electric South 2024 review to find out what happened next.
Setting Up
Thursday arrived and it was time to head to Farnborough to set up. There was still no more news on the Porsche Macan, but we hoped that would change over the course of the day. Farnborough was familiar territory for us at EVision. It was great to be back again and to see so many exhibitors that we had seen before. There were also a lot of new companies on display which is always great to see.
A big change to our previous outing to Everything Electric was that nearly everything was inside the event centre rather than split evenly between inside and out. This makes a lot of sense when you consider that this time was much later in the year and the weather was not so reliable.
Once we carefully manoeuvred all of our vehicles (and an electric mini digger) into place, we were feeling a little more comfortable. Then the news came that we were hoping for. Porsche had the Macan from the port and were taking it back for their final checks. Unfortunately the Porsche Macan would not be there for the opening day of the show, but it would arrive bright and early on Saturday morning for the last two days of the event.
Everything was ready. It was go time.
Getting the Show on the Road
Day one kicked off very early. Although the doors would not open until 10am, our team would leave at 6am to get to the event centre through the Friday traffic so we could do our final checks. Those 4 hours passed very quickly, and it was time to greet the public.
Something we noticed from all three days was that there was no single preference in our vehicles. All three vehicles on our stand and the Porsche Macan (when it got there) on the Live EV Arena would all be swarmed with fascinated individuals who really appreciated what they saw. One person who was in awe at seeing the Rivian R1S went into a state of shock when he saw the Ford F150 Lightning. This, he assured me, had made his whole day. High praise indeed.
Even though the MG ZS isn’t a show-stopper car, it was shown a lot of love and generated a high level of interest from people who wanted to hire it. We can’t blame them. It’s a pretty special little SUV.
Other Sights at the Show
It wouldn’t be a proper Everything Electric South 2024 review if we didn’t at least mention some of the other things we saw. One thing that really stands out is the Tesla Cybertruck. Unfortunately this was not there on Friday, so a lot of people missed out on seeing it in person. However, it really garnered attention over the final 2 days.
Our stand was right next door to the zero carbon kitchen. Here we would see the Fully Charged presenters having a go at cooking various recipes. The smells that drifted over to us from time to time were absolutely amazing.
A final thing to mention is the electric emergency vehicles on display from the police and ambulance service. We had a chance to speak with some of the emergency crew and listen to their stories of how the vehicles are being used. It was a fascinating insight into their world.
Concluding the Everything Electric South 2024 Review
We could have gone on for a long time discussing the event. However, this is a blog and not a novel. Therefore, I have had to trim down the storytelling.
It is safe to say that this was yet another incredible event. The popularity of electric vehicles and green energy solutions continues to grow and it is wonderful to see. We are looking forward to getting together with our Everything Electric friends again in the near future.
