We are Smart Columbus and we are:
Driving EV market growth.
Driving an EV makes a statement about your values—and also says that you invest in innovation. We’ve been strategic in growing the EV market and educating consumers, businesses and organizations about the benefits of EVs to align with our community that’s advancing toward the future.
Though many people equate EVs with West Coast living, several Midwest cities, including Columbus, have been prioritizing the drive electric movement.
Jordan Davis, Director of Smart Columbus, The Columbus Partnership
Understanding EV Early Adopters
In order to create programs, education and incentives that would be most impactful to reaching our goal, we first had to establish a clear understanding of the consumer landscape in Columbus. The baseline consumer awareness survey helped us better understand opportunities and barriers to EV adoption in the region, and how local measures of EV adoption compare to nationwide EV figures.
What we learnedA Vehicle to BeliEVe in Campaign Videos
Car buyers spend an average of 13 hours researching their vehicle purchase online. While we established the hypothesis that influencing early adopters in the workplace is vital to achieving our EV adoption goals, we also needed to be present online as they took the next step in researching and completing their purchase.
Learn More About the Campaign
12,000 EV Test Drives in Two Years
The Ride & Drive Roadshow is Smart Columbus’ flagship EV education program, driving EV adoption by providing opportunities for residents to test drive EVs of all varieties in a low-pressure, brand-agnostic, educational environment.
120 events
11,956 drives completed
77 unique host sites
84% closed events at workplaces
1,528 drivers opted-in to be contacted by a dealership
87% of drivers rated the experience very good or excellent
4.8 star rating for the trained right seat drivers
Creating a Brand Agnostic EV Education Environment
The Smart Columbus Experience Center includes 3,000 sq. ft. of co-working space and a 3,000 sq. ft. showroom open to the public with a rotating fleet of EVs for residents to test drive.
Making test drives accessible# MODELS AVAILABLE
FROM 2016 TO 2020
% of U.S PEVs SOLD IN OUR REGION
FROM 2016 TO 2020
Creating an EV Sales Environment at the Dealership
To reach its electrification goal, Smart Columbus had to recreate the success of EV adoption programs found in ZEV states without the statewide policy support. We also had to encourage OEMs to bring inventory to Ohio, though the state lacked the market that made EVs so attractive to buy in ZEV states. Through discussions with dealers, manufacturers and consumers, we developed the Electrified Dealers framework to create a high-quality EV sales environment.
Tactics on engaging with OEMsPrivate EV Fleet
Public EV Fleet
Electrifying vehicle fleets is the most cost-effective way for our region to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. During the Electrification Program, 319 fleet EVs were procured by a diverse number of organizations. Over the next five years, the EV market will expand with viable electric heavy-duty vehicles, trucks, buses and other work machinery that will change the make-up of transportation forever.