The Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (the Department) has published a new tender application yesterday, that relates to hosting a series of test drive days featuring battery electric vehicles (BEV).
The intent of this activity is to engage business and private drivers in an experiential educational setting in order to influence their light vehicle purchasing behaviour. It is expected that a minimum of 20 test drive days be delivered during financial year 2021/22 across the NSW State.
The Department is seeking a partner(s) to deliver BEV test drive day events which will have two key audiences for the test drive events:
- business fleets
- general vehicle-buying public
Locations
The current lockdown aside, these drive days are planned to be held across a diverse range of NSW locations including Far North Coast, Mid North Coast, New England, Central Coast, Hunter, Cumberland/Prospect, Nepean, Northern Sydney, Inner West, South East Sydney, South West Sydney, Central West, Orana/Far West, Riverina/Murray, Illawarra, Southern Highlands.
This is an open tender with no restriction placed on who may tender, but if you happened to have access to a track, I’d imagine that’d go down pretty well as part of the test drives.
Tenderers will normally be required to demonstrate in their tender that they have the necessary skills, resources, experience, financial capacity, and in some cases licences, accreditations, etc., to fulfil the tender requirements.
Head to the eTendering website if you’re looking to apply.
Regarding those who may like to participate in one of the 20 test drive events, details of that are still to be announced. Overall it’s very positive to see the NSW Government supporting this type of approach. Providing access to electric vehicles, particularly for those who’ve never seen, touched, sat in or driven an EV before, can dramatically change impressions of their capabiltiies.
At the heart of it, seeing is believing and getting people behind the wheel is the best way to showcase the new technology to people. You can watch all the YouTube videos you like, but when actually feel the instant torque and acceleration of an EV, hear how quiet they are, your opinion of what a car can offer, often changes forever.
Let’s hope more states follow this model, to help accelerate EV adoption in Australia.
