Low-carbon motoring show Ecovelocity has reported a seven-fold increase in visitors after co-locating the event with Grand Designs Live at Excel London.
 
Media 10 acquired a majority stake in EcoVelocity in February following the show’s launch at Battersea Park last September. Its second edition was held alongside Grand Designs Live (GDL) from 5 to 13 May and reported 57,909 visitors, up from 7,000 at its debut.
 
This year’s EcoVelocity featured a 3.5-mile test track for qualified visitors to drive low-carbon and alternative energy cars from a range of manufacturers including Vauxhall, Mia, Honda, Citroen, Nissan, Peugeot and Tesla. The consumer exhibition is supported by Metro newspaper and attracted EDF Energy as headline sponsor this year.
 
“There was some reticence from the car industry to take on-board an event so soon after our first one, particularly given we’ve changed things so much with a new venue, concept, partners and so on,” EcoVelocity MD Giles Brown told EN.
 
“Footfall had also been limited last year, despite great results across the test driving experience. By co-locating with Grand Designs Live, we were able to increase exposure to visitors and grow the show. As a result, we had a staggering footfall increase.”
 
Both shows had their own entrance and marketing campaigns but visitors were able to visit both on a single ticket via the venue’s boulevard.
 
“We had a core, dedicated group of enthusiasts via EcoVelocity, then we had the broader audience base of Grand Designs Live, which helps with broadening the appeal of these types of cars to the wider market,” Brown continued. Manufacturers were also able to deliver more than 700 test drives each due to the extended track facilities.
 
“Low-carbon vehicles are still new and people are apprehensive about them, which is why it’s so important to manufacturers that they can try these vehicles,” Brown explained. “The people who did try vehicles said it had changed their perceptions in a really positive way.”
 
Exhibitors at EcoVelocity were given set-size, low-cost stands with astroturf flooring, suitable for housing up to five cars, which Brown described as another nod to the show’s environmental roots.
 
The team is now investigating opportunities to run the show alongside other Media 10 events throughout the year, as well as returning with GDL next May.
 
“We could feasibly run this as a roadshow with other events addressing other types of audiences in the portfolio and across different locations,” Brown added.
 
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