One of Forth’s core focus areas is promoting the market adoption of electric vehicles among the general public. For the past several years, this has primarily been conducted through in-person consumer engagement–ride and drives in partnership with cities and utilities, educational presentations at local institutions, at events and Auto Shows, and at Forth’s physical exhibit space in Portland, the Forth Electric Showcase. 

With the spread of COVID-19, these engagements have abruptly come to a halt. Like many organizations, Forth has been adapting to this “new normal.” One of Forth’s programmatic solutions has been the creation of two webinar series. The EVening Commute and the EV Cafeteria are new additions to our consumer engagement activities to introduce transportation electrification to a general audience of EV novices and enthusiasts. 

The EVening Commute aims to take a more casual approach in presenting information on current trends and advances in consumer-focused electric transportation. 

The inaugural episode, “Experts in the Drivers Seat” included representatives from Green Car Reports, Veloz, and a used EV car dealership, Platt Auto, answering questions and providing personal and professional opinions on EVs. The second episode, “EVs Here to Help,” used videos to highlight Arcimoto’s innovative applications of its vehicles for deliveries and first responders, and Forth’s partnership with Botanist, a local restaurant which used our electric vehicles to deliver meals to service-industry workers furloughed due to Covid-19. 

Other episodes in the series focus on micromobility, electric motorcycles, light-duty trucks and more. 

The EV Cafeteria is designed to provide a “lunch and learn” style program. Presented to companies and organizations as well as to general audiences these highlight the basics of EVs and EV charging, while creating a space for folks to get questions answered. 

While the experience of meeting folks in-person and providing the opportunity to get behind the wheel of an EV is certainly missed, Forth’s virtual platforms can help to maintain the momentum of consumer adoption of this important technology to reduce carbon emissions and greenhouse gasses.

Forth’s upcoming virtual events can be found here.