More than 200 attendees showed up at the 2013 Plug-in and Electric Vehicle Showcase in Suisun City, Calif., on Feb. 28. The annual event, in its third year, is hosted by the East Bay Clean Cities in partnership with the NorCal Northern Nevada Chapter of NAFA and the Municipal Equipment Maintenance Association (MEMA).

“It’s a way to bring all of the options together for a less than full day event where folks can figure out what’s new and what works for them,” said Richard Battersby, fleet services director for the University of California, Davis, and executive director of East Bay Clean Cities Coalition.

According to Battersby, the event had attendees from fleet, procurement, and the public. The show included displays and ride-and-drives of 18 different vehicle types and various charging station displays.

While fleet attendees made up the core group of attendees, the event also allowed the general public to see many of the available EVs on the market. “We had folks coming out who were interested in being in an electric vehicle, for their own use, or maybe just wanted to see what they were all about, but were reluctant to visit 10 different dealerships,” Battersby said.

The event drew mostly people from the northern California area, but two Finnish attendees were also in attendance, Battersby said. “They both thought [the event] was interesting and hoped to take that model back to their home country.”

East Bay Clean Cities is a non-profit all-volunteer organization funded by grants and stakeholders. It is governed by a board of directors from within the fleet industry.

By Thi Dao