An Electric Car Guest Drive EVent was staged at the NV Energy campus in Las Vegas on May 25th at 6226 W. Sahara in Las Vegas.
Pre-registered attendees could choose tickets to test drive two electric cars during the day, from a variety of currently available plug-in hybrid and battery-powered electric cars on the market.
LVEVA President Lloyd Reece was one of the “coaches” during the event, who rode along in the passenger seat of the test-drive vehicles. He helped new drivers learn about the Tesla Model 3 , the Chevrolet Volt, and Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV.
Other test-drive vehicles included the Tesla Model S and Model X, as well as the Kia Niro PHEV, Chrysler Pacifica PHEV, BMW i3, and Chevrolet Bolt EV.
A Hyundai Kona electric SUV was also on display by its owner, who answered questions about his four-month ownership experience.
The Kona electric SUV is not available from local Hyundai dealerships within the state of Nevada yet, but could be purchased in California and brought into the state, as its owner had done.
Exhibit booths included the NV Energy PowerShift program that showcased energy-efficiency programs and EV “Time-of-Use” EV incentive programs.
Nevada Department of Transportation and the Nevada Governor’s Office of Energy presented a map and updates about the Nevada Electric Highway program. Phase 2 rollout along interstate highway I-80 will include DC Fast Charging stations and J1772 AC Level 2 stations every 50 – 75 miles. The NGOE hopes to complete phase 2 by the end of 2020.
Phase 1 of the program was recently completed from Las Vegas to Reno, along Highway 95, with one DC Fast Charge station and a dual J1772 AC Level 2 station available in Beatty, Tonopah, Hawthorne and Fallon.
These EVSE stations are located every 100 miles along the highway. Directions to each site can be found on mobile phone apps from ChargePoint and Plugshare.
The Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada also exhibited the Navya autonomous electric shuttle bus, that was employed in Downtown Las Vegas as the first pilot test program for autonomous vehicles within the United States.
The AAA automotive organization partnered with the RTC of Southern Nevada and Navya to offer free rides to passengers around a four-block circuit that started at Container Park on East Fremont Street.
The pilot program ran from November 2017 to November 2018 to gather test information and survey data from passengers. The electric Navya shuttle bus performed reliably over that time, even during hot summer days.
RTC of Southern Nevada is considering an expansion of the autonomous shuttle bus system to also include autonomous taxi vehicles that would connect Downtown Las Vegas with a nearby medical district.