National Drive Electric Week
2022 Knoxville Drive Electric Week Festival
Knoxville, TN
Sep 24, 2022
2022 Knoxville Drive Electric Week Festival
Knoxville, TN
Sep 24, 2022
| Day: | Saturday, September 24, 2022 NOTE: this event has already happened, find current-year events on the Attend page. |
| Time: | 10:00 am - 3:00 pm EDT |
| Location: | Pellissippi State Community College Hardin Valley Campus (Main Campus) 10915 Hardin Valley Road Knoxville, TN 37933-0990 |
Event Report
What a thrill! The 2022 Knoxville Drive Electric Festival, held at Pellissippi State Community College (PSCC), was the largest National Drive Electric Week event in the Southeast and the second largest in North America (based on number of vehicles registered on the event web page). Over 600 people attended the Festival.
The Knoxville Electric Vehicle Association (KEVA) coordinated this huge event. Special thanks go out to our partners: PSCC, Drive Electric Tennessee, and the East Tennessee Clean Fuels Coalition for all of the work and support generously given. Over 100 volunteers (mostly vehicle owners) collectively donated about 1950 hours of their time. Thanks also to Harper Auto Square, Lance Cunningham Ford, Lee-Smith of Chattanooga, Mercedes of Knoxville, and Reeder Chevrolet, all of who participated in the Ride & Drive program. Hundreds of people had the opportunity to experience electric vehicles in motion during the Ride & Drive, with 13 different models to choose from.
Once again, WATE-TV included National Drive Electric Week in its "Living East Tennessee" program. The segment is here: https://www.wate.com/living-east-tennessee/drive-electric-week-knoxville-kicks-off-september-24th/
While we expected and planned for a large number of the models of EVs seen on the streets of town, we were privileged to have on hand three Rivian R1T pickup trucks and two Ford F-150 Lightning pickups. Also on hand were Mercedes-Benz 450 EQS and EQB from Mercedes of Knoxville. Lance Cunningham Ford was taking folks for a punch-and-go ride in their demo Lightning. Now that pickup trucks are appearing on our streets, plus other new EVs, it’s clear that the rEVolution is well underway right here in the Southeast. Private owners brought the Rivians and one of the Lightnings. They also brought exciting new cars including the Genesis GV60, Hyundai Ioniq 5, Jaguar I-Pace, and Kia EV6. Knoxville Area Transit once again brought one of their electric buses.
Owners and dealers brought 118 sedans, vans, SUVs, trucks, and motorcycles. Among those for Ride & Drives were a Tesla Model X and a Tesla Model 3 from the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, a Bolt from Reeder Chevrolet, a Mercedes-Benz 450 EQS and an EQB, and the Lightning from Lance Cunningham. Harper Auto Square brought a Porsche Taycan, an Audi Q4 Quattro, and a Volkswagen ID.4. We also had a number of owners allowing rides in their own vehicles.
This was a big year for conversions. The oldest vehicle (& most expensive) ICE to EV was a 1966 Ford Bronco conversion done by Kincer Chassis in Louisville, TN. DreamEV of Nashville joined us in a 1982 Volkswagen Vanagon, fully electric. Also on hand were a Mazda RX8 converted to an electric racecar (0 to 60 in 1.6 seconds!), scheduled to race in Atlanta this December, and a Honda Insight converted from hybrid to fully electric by one of our own KEVA members. Tennessee Tech brought over their Ford F-250 hybrid conversion to show off their engineering skills again.
LeMond Bicycles brought four e-bikes for people to try out. Superpedestrian brought six LINK e-scooters. And MOKE America Tennessee brought one of their MOKEs for rides. All in all, there were 128 electrically powered things that people could ride in or on. Plus other one & two wheeled toys owners brought!
Daniel Siksay captured the entire show in a single video:
Jim Crawford from North Georgia joined us again this year to interview vendors and owners. He's posted this video of the vendors and cars to his YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/SuqvSq-_CBk and this one of the music as well: https://youtu.be/QXj-kPuuefE
The Knoxville Utilities Board provides rebates for installing home charging systems for EVs, so they had a presence with their LEAF and electric Tiger Truck. The City of Knoxville brought one of their Nissan LEAFs. Blink chargers had a representative to discuss chargers & to give away a home charger. And Solar Alliance demonstrated a solar powered cart called Mr. Solar & also discussed level 1 & Level 2 charger availability, along with solar opportunities.
A special area was set aside for eating & fun a few yards from the show. Kidz Korner featured face painting, cornhole, and chalk drawing on pavement. Food & Company Catering fed the crowd. Shaw Hollow, New John’s Creek, and True Blue kept the music playing throughout the day, thanks to production support from the PSCC faculty and students in Audio Production Engineering.
More photos from this event https://www.flickr.com/photos/etcleanfuels/albums/72177720302509022/with/52393452286/
photo by: East Tennessee Clean Fuels Coalition People and cars begin to gather at the 2022 Knoxville Drive Electric Festival on the Pellissippi State Community College main campus. Based on registrations on the National Drive Electric Week (NDEW) website, this was the second largest NDEW event in North America. |
Event Description
It's A Drive Electric Festival!
It's EV Time in Tennessee! The Knoxville Electric Vehicle Association (KEVA), Pellissippi State Community College (PSCC), and Drive Electric Tennessee (DET) are working to make the 2022 Knoxville Drive Electric Week Festival even better than it was in 2021. All activities -- vehicles on display, ride and drives, vendors, etc. -- will be held on the PSCC Hardin Valley (Main) Campus.
The Festival will feature all vehicles that can be plugged in, and that a person can ride in or on. Cars, motorcycles, eBikes, electric scooters, MOKEs, etc.
This is an opportunity to talk directly with electric vehicle (EV) owners about their real world experiences with electric vehicles. Want to know what it's like to take a long road trip in an electric car? Our members have thousands of miles of road trip experiences. Curious about how to find a charger on the road and how long it takes to charge? The answers are here. (So are a couple of chargers - PSCC has two.) What about maintenance? There's very little maintenance needed, and owners can tell you why. Curious about converting an internal combustion engine or hybrid vehicle to fully battery electric? Mark and others know how.
You can see and compare a wide range of EV models in one place. Owners and auto dealers will have numerous vehicles for show and ride and drives throughout the day. Expected owner vehicles include Audi e-tron, BMW i3REx, Chevrolet Bolts and Volts, Energica Motorcycle, Evoke Urban Classic Motorcycle, Ford F-150 Lightning and Mustang Mach-E, Genesis GV60, Honda Clarity, Hyundai Ioniq 5, Jaguar iPace, Kia Niro and Kia EV6, Nissan LEAF, Polestar 2, Porsche Taycan, Rivian R1T, Smart for Two, Tesla Models 3, Y, S, and X, Toyota Prius Prime, Volkswagen ID4, Zero motorcycle, and more. We are adding more EVs every day. Local dealers like Harper Auto Square, Lance Cunningham Ford, Lee-Smith of Chattanooga, Mercedes of Knoxville, and Reeder Chevrolet will bring models available in the Knoxville area. Knowledgeable KEVA members will be available to answer your questions throughout the day. There will be an information station, utility representatives, and Electric Avenue featuring sustainability organizations (solar and other).
For extra fun, visit the Personal EV riding area and try out e-bikes from LeMond Bikes, e-scooters from Superpedestrian, and the electric MOKE from MOKE America Tennessee.
We're really excited that DreamEV of Nashville is bringing a 1982 VW Vanagon conversion and Kincer Chassis is bringing a 1966 Ford Bronco conversion. We'll have a 2006 Mazda RX8 converted to a fully electric race car.
Plus food and music:
We have these great organizations providing information about their sustainability products and programs. Stop to talk with them on Electric Avenue and throughout the Festival grounds.
DC-America (Skid-mounted DC Fast Chargers)
DreamEV (VW Vanagon Conversion)
Drive Electric Tennessee (DET)
Electric Vehicle Rentals (Turo Car Rental)
Food & Company Mobile Catering (In the food court. Pulled Pork, Subs, Coffee, Pastries, Snow Cones)
Harper Auto Square (In the Ride & Drive area)
Kincer Chassis (1966 Ford Bronco Conversion)
Knox Details Auto Salon (PPF, Wraps, and Tinting)
Knoxville Area Transit (KAT)
Knoxville Electric Vehicle Association (KEVA)
Knoxville Utilities Board (KUB)
Lance Cunningham Ford (in the Ride & Drive area)
Lee-Smith, Inc. (Commercial Truck Sales)
LeMond Bicycles (e-Bikes) (In the Personal EV riding area)
Mercedes of Knoxville (In the Ride & Drive area.)
MOKE America Tennessee (In the Personal EV riding area)
Pellissippi State Community College (PSCC)
Reeder Chevrolet (In the Ride & Drive area)
Solar Alliance (Solar energy and charging solutions)
Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE). (In the Ride & Drive area)
Superpedestrian (E-Scooter rental) (In the Personal EV riding area)
Tennessee Tech University (TTU)
photo by: Matt Lawson
The faces of EV diversity - Stacy Davis, Susan Goodwin, Billy Williams, Vanessa Mills, and Patricia Mesa with Billy's 2021 Tesla Model S.
We owe a great debt of thanks to Plug-In America and to Electrify America for their continued support.
COVID-19 safety restrictions will be followed for this event.
These restrictions will be updated as needed to be consistent with PSCC, Tennessee, and CDC guidance.
- Most of the vehicles at the festival are privately owned. It is important that the wishes and safety of the owners be respected.
- This event will follow all safety precautions required by the State of Tennessee, Knoxville, Knox County, Pellissippi State Community College, Plug In America, and our insurance providers.
- We will post up-to-date COVID-19 safety precautions about two weeks before the event.
Registered Attendees
There are currently 638 attendees registered.
Owners of These Vehicles Have Registered To Attend
| Vehicle | Registered |
| Tesla Model 3 | 31 |
| Tesla Model Y | 18 |
| Kia EV6 | 9 |
| Tesla Model S | 9 |
| Chevrolet Volt | 8 |
| Ford Mustang Mach-E | 7 |
| Nissan Leaf (2011-2017) | 7 |
| Tesla Model X | 7 |
| Chevrolet Bolt | 6 |
| EV Conversion | 6 |
| Hyundai Ioniq 5 | 6 |
| Volkswagen ID.4 | 6 |
| Nissan Leaf (2018+) | 5 |
| BMW i3 REx | 4 |
| Other Plug-In Vehicle | 4 |
| Chevrolet Bolt EUV | 3 |
| Ford F-150 Lightning | 3 |
| Porsche Taycan | 3 |
| Rivian R1T | 3 |
| Audi e-tron | 2 |
| Jaguar I-Pace | 2 |
| Kia Niro Electric | 2 |
| Mercedes-Benz EQS 450 Plus | 2 |
| Polestar 2 | 2 |
| Smart fortwo electric drive | 2 |
| Zero Motorcycle | 2 |
| Audi Q4 e-tron quattro | 1 |
| Energica Eva | 1 |
| Fisker Karma | 1 |
| Ford Focus Electric | 1 |
| Ford Transit Connect Electric | 1 |
| Genesis GV60 | 1 |
| Honda Clarity Plug-in Hybrid | 1 |
| Kia Soul EV | 1 |
| MINI Cooper SE Hardtop 2 Door | 1 |
| Toyota Prius Prime | 1 |
| Toyota RAV4 Prime 4WD/AWD | 1 |
| 37 Models | 170 |
| Vehicle | Registered |
Registered attendees report 3,486,161 electric miles driven.
