The tenth annual National Drive Electric Week (NDEW), a coast-to-coast celebration of electric vehicles (EVs), will be held September 26–October 4 and include more than 100 online events for the first time, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. NDEW highlights the environmental, health, and consumer benefits of clean plug-in vehicles.
NDEW will begin with a national kick-off virtual event on Thursday, September 24 at 8 pm ET/5 pm PT, to be streamed on Facebook Live. The event will include TV personality Bill Nye the Science Guy, NPR’s Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me! host Peter Sagal, and race car driver and environmental activist Leilani Münter. In April, a similar Drive Electric Earth Day event garnered more than 17,000 views.
NDEW will continue throughout the following week with more than 100 local and national virtual events from more than 34 states and Canada. Most events are organized locally, by individuals and groups within their own communities.
In some areas of the country, in-person events will be held outdoors with social distancing and required safety measures, in line with CDC guidelines.
There are now more than 1.5 million electric vehicles on the road in the United States and a recent survey by Consumer Reports and the Union of Concerned Scientists showed that more than 60% of prospective car buyers in the U.S. are interested in electric vehicles. There are now more than 40 models available in the U.S., with many of the newer models having a range of 200-300 miles or more.
NDEW is presented by national organizers Plug In America, the Sierra Club, and the Electric Auto Association. Nissan LEAF is the exclusive automotive sponsor of NDEW. ClipperCreek and Electrify America are silver level sponsors and the Clean Vehicle Rebate Project is a silver level California regional sponsor.
To learn more about National Drive Electric Week, visit DriveElectricWeek.org.