Electrify Expo Irvine 2021 (A Little Late)

I was lucky enough to be invited to the first ever Electrify Expo event held in Orange County, California in September.

Electrify Expo is where all of the big EV companies (cars, scooters, bikes, skateboards etc) can show off their cool new products and let people try them out. It was supposed to happen pre-covid…. But you know how that went!

Electrify Expo OC had a great turnout, the line to get in was around the block to the parking lot next door! Personally, I thought it was not going to be a big turnout, but I was proved wrong. Apparently all things electric are hot. And man, I gotta say that every auto manufacturer that was there, made incredible display stands and it was super interesting to see how different all of their cars were.

My favourite booth had to be the Polestar Cube (No, I'm not biased just because my Mum works for them....well, maybe a little) that was at the center of the show. They did an incredible job of displaying the cars not only on the outside but on the inside of the cube! Being the most expensive car there, the Polestar 1 was very popular. Polestar also had the most test drives for the entire event, and from all the feedback I heard, people really like the car.

Another manufacturer with an incredible setup was Hyundai. They had tons of cars and someone was always available to talk to about the car. My favourite car out of their stand was the IONIQ 5. It was a really nice size with 5 seats but it also had very good trunk space! The headlights were super cool too, they were LED rectangles that looked incredible when they were on. I also really like how fresh and new the Hyundais looked too, they were kind of like the Polestars, feeling more like normal cars than, say, a Tesla.

Mini did an incredible job on the Cooper SE electric version. I have one issue with the Mini though and that is its range. With only 110 miles and 181 Horsepower, it was the cheapest car there,yes, but I feel they could have put a bit more effort into a bigger battery and justified a higher price. That said it looked incredible with no detail missed, even down to the little logo.

The XC40 Recharge was very, meh. It didn't feel great in person and nothing felt perfect, I also don't really like the body shape of the XC40 anyway. It's boxy and reminds me of the Honda CR-V (which I think we can all agree does not look the best). But I have to say, that the XC40 has some of the best manufacturer colors ever!

There were also many E-Bike/Scooter booths there. My favorites were Onyx, which were street legal electric bikes based on the old cafe racer bikes, and Super 73 super powerful cruiser bikes that are super customizable. It was pretty incredible how fast these E bikes are, the acceleration is crazy too!

My favorite car there had to be the completely electric swapped mustang made by AEM EV. I love how even aftermarket companies have realized that there is a whole market in electric cars. With the general move to electric there are people who are going to want to mod them, and that's what AEM EV has done! They make all sorts of Converters and E motors to make most electric cars faster.

After this event I really have a new appreciation for Electric cars. I'm not saying they're better than a normal combustion engine but EVs just have that certain spark (get it?!) that normal cars just don't have. I truly love a normal combustion engine, but EVs will definitely take over eventually, it's just a matter of when!

Electrify Expo also went to Miami and Austin in 2021, and next year, there are talks for it to take place in more cities across the US. It’s well worth a visit for any type of electric mobility.