Anyone who lives in a big city experiences traffic issues, with rush-hour commutes being the bane of people’s existence. And anyone who lives in Canada’s biggest city knows that better than almost everyone else in North America.
The 2022 TomTom Traffic Index ranked the City of Toronto’s rush-hour third worst in North America, behind Mexico City and New York. Never-ending construction, suburban commuters, an antiquated transit system and highways that bottleneck at the main entry and exit points have created a nightmare scenario for millions of drivers. On average, it took 22-and-half minutes to move 10 km in Toronto during peak traffic times in 2022. That is an era of hybrid work and a city with nearly 15 percent office vacancy rates at the end of the same year.
But it’s not only about the wasted time it takes to get from A to B. TomTom estimates rush-hour costs the average Toronto driver (travelling just 10 km!) $755 in gas annually and that 99 trees would need to be grown to absorb the CO2 emissions from a single stop-and-go vehicle. And it’s only getting worse.
Those are shocking numbers. And they are the reasons Plug’n Drive exists.
Founded in 2011 by Toronto-based environmentalist and lawyer Cara Clairman, the non-profit’s singular goal is to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles through education and awareness of their environmental and economic benefits. Clairman, the VP of Sustainable Development at Ontario Power Generation before founding Plug’n Drive, knew change was needed to help create a better climate for future generations and that converting people to EVs could make a huge dent in the problem.
But market research showed that the sector was very fragmented; the average consumer didn’t know much about EVs and didn’t think of them as accessible. They were generally considered novelty items — toys for rich people or next-generation golf carts —and there was no one-stop shop to learn about and experience EVs. Enter Plug’n Drive.
Just by the eye test in 2023, you’d think Clairman and her team would have had to hustle less than in 2011 to convert consumers, but not so, says Dav Cvitkovic, Plug’n Drive’s COO. “There's never been more opportunity in the space. The hustle is still on; it’s just different. In the early days, it convinced people that an EV was an option, and now it's about educating them on which model is best for them.”
Plug’n Drive operates in an exciting space within the industry. The company is brand agnostic, which builds trust with people because there’s no pressure to test or purchase one vehicle or another. It relies on government grants and corporate and utilities sponsorships to cover costs. It also works with partner OEMs who provide the vehicles for test drives — usually four or five at any one-stop, ranging from compact cars to luxury SUVs. Its ambassadors are only selling the benefits of EVs; their mandate is to educate and provide engaging experiences to convert to electric. It’s up to individuals to decide the make and model they want to test drive.
While Plug’n Drive booths can be found at conferences, trade shows and community events across Canada and the U.S., Cvitkovic is quick to point out that the company’s crown jewel is its discovery centres, which it calls mobile EV education trailers (MEETs).
The company works closely with forward-thinking municipalities to find high foot-traffic locations where a MEET can sit for a month with vehicles and charging stations. It then staffs the activation with EV Ambassadors, owners who educate the uninitiated about economic and environmental benefits, home and public charging, price points, government incentives and more. In a month, each activation results in a few hundred test drives.
It's a model that drives a staggering number of leads for partner OEMs and contributes to all kinds of sales. According to Cvitkovic, 40 percent of Plug’n Drive visitors buy an EV within six months and 60 percent plan to within two years. It’s a win-win for Plug’n Drive and OEMs, and it yields the best results when Limelight Platform software is fully integrated into the template.
Everyone who participates in a Plug’n Drive experience fills out a Limelight-powered tablet questionnaire providing basic information about themselves and their barriers to EV adoption. (That data also allows Plug’n Drive to track market shifts.) Anyone who books a test drive has their driver’s licence scanned, and after every drive, they answer a short survey about the vehicle of their choice and where they are in the consumer journey. For OEMs, the consumer data is priceless, but for those who opt into the Limelight portion of the program, “hot leads” surge seamlessly into their CRMs in real time, allowing individual dealerships to communicate with potential customers immediately.
Limelight is essentially the wrapper that packages the disparate parts of the process together — from Plug’n Drive’s education and driving experiences to lead gen to ROI reporting to sales. Limelight software is a game-changer for brands that rely on moving a high volume of vehicles in the super-competitive EV category. And for consumers looking to switch to EVs, it creates a seamless connection between their Plug’n Drive experience and the next steps toward purchase.
Twelve years after Plug’n Drive was founded, the EV revolution is in top gear. Every major auto manufacturer globally is racing to grab its share of the sector. Ads touting the latest in EV models are ubiquitous, costs are coming down, apps provide maps to charging stations, start-up EV-only brands are flourishing, and sales are skyrocketing. But the work is far from done. “There's always going to be a need for Plug’n Drive, but maybe in a different way,” says Cvitkovic. “One-hundred percent adoption is a lofty goal, and we hope to get there.”