COEXLION

London EV Show

London EV Show 14 – 16 December 2021

Chairman Jeff attended the London EV show yesterday held at the Business Design Centre in Islington, London. It is the first time an EV show has been held in London although others have previously been held elsewhere in the World. The show was a mix of conference sessions presenting a series of 15 minute papers from eminent people from different aspects of the EV industry and a traditional exhibition with around 25 stands from various manufacturers. The conference focussed mainly on EV infrastructure, industry initiatives and market penetration. There wasn’t much of direct interest to Engineers or Designers. I did not attend. The exhibition mostly comprised stands from EV charging infrastructure manufacturers although there were a few stands from companies selling small electric delivery vans. Most of these are imported, some in kit form and then part finished in the UK. There is potentially a huge market for these vehicles although at the moment price and range limitations limit their attractiveness.
 
The venue was interesting. It was formerly the Agricultural Halls built in 1862 and looked like a miniature St Pancras station or the old Manchester Central station (now G Mex). Like G Mex it has been tastefully converted into a Conference and Exhibition centre. Around the perimeter are small specialist design shops which I guess were formerly fruit and veg stalls or stalls selling small agricultural gear. The exhibition space is at first floor level on top of an arrangement of specialist design enterprises most of which appeared empty or closed.
 
Sadly, the show did not appear well attended. Perhaps the latest Covid scare had deterred people from coming. Or perhaps they were attending the conference sessions on line. Anyway, there weren’t all that many people about. Nevertheless, I had some interesting chats with the people selling vans and other vehicles, including Tesla who tried to sell me one of their cars but without success.
 
I was slightly surprised to be asked to show my Covid Vaccine record before I was allowed to enter the building. I don’t think it could be called a large event and it certainly wasn’t a club of any description at all. Fortunately, I had my certificates in my wallet. Lesson learned – it’s best to have them with you at all times. I guess it’s best to be safe than sorry on these occasions. I was amused when it came to collecting my visitors badge. I was labelled Dr Jeff! I presume their system couldn’t cope with Llewellyn.
 
I don’t know whether the organisers thought that the show was sufficiently successful to warrant another one next year. We will have to wait and see.
 
Chairman Jeff

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