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Hi, I'm Gary and this is Episode 276 of EV Musings, podcast about renewables, electric vehicles and
things that are interesting to electric vehicle owners. And on the show today, we'll be looking
at the London to Brighton EV rally.
Our main topic of discussion today is the London to Brighton EV rally. Regular listeners to this
show will know that for the last three years, I've participated in an event in the early summer
called the London to Brighton EV rally. Now, driving from London to Brighton is nothing new.
They've been doing it literally for decades, but what sets this apart from other rallies of this
sort is that the vehicles are all electric. Now, when the rally itself started several years ago,
a journey from London to Brighton with an electric vehicle was still something of a novelty,
depending on where you started. There was the distinct possibility that you wouldn't be able to
do the journey without having to stop for a charge. Back then, the charging infrastructure
wasn't quite as good as it is now or as plentiful, so whenever you came across a charge point, you
find a queue of people on the rally waiting to charge. Now, obviously, things have changed a
lot since then. The ranges are longer, and the charging is more plentiful and quicker,
and with very few exceptions, there's rarely a need to actually stop to charge on the run.
But the rally itself has morphed alongside the EV uptake, and it's a different thing now to
what it was when it started. So, to talk about this a little bit, I want to bring in Bill Murray,
not that one, the man behind the London to Brighton EV rally.
Hi, I'm Bill Murray. I'm part of Electric Connect. It's an agency that looks at all things EV,
mobility, and sustainability focused. We run the London to Brighton rally, the EV rally.
We also run the Powered Up conference, and we do a series of charge and drive events,
which tries to entice people into EVs for the first time, look at charging, look at infrastructure,
and how they can best adopt a better lifestyle.
Fantastic, and we will come through and talk about most of those things individually, but
I'd like to ask people for the first time when they come on the podcast, I'd like to ask them,
what's their EV story? How did you come to like your vehicles?
Well, I was involved in 2011 in the Brighton to London EV concept rally that the RAC were putting
on. So they decided that they were going to disprove this fact, I think that EVs would ever catch
on. Hilarious, because we had to have Aprius, the very earliest Tesla and a Mercedes test van
that was brought from Germany, which had a range of 40 miles and took about a week and a
half to charge. And we had a fabulous time. I mean, it was a concept which they wanted to disprove,
but actually, in a way, we all came together and we had a big party at the Grand Hotel after it had,
no, before it started and then afterwards we ended up in London. And from then on, really,
I know that Robert Llewellyn was skirting around the event, and I did it with a couple
of friends of mine that worked in Brighton Council. And it was just that I just felt free.
I felt it wasn't bogged down by the motor industry as a whole because we were doing something new.
So I got my first Zoe and when it first came out, I couldn't charge that either.
I had to keep taking it back to the garage to charge it. But even that, just,
I mean, you know what it's like, driving for the first time, that buzz, that feeling,
that clean kind of energy that nothing else compares. And my dad had E-Type Jags and Aston
Martins and he was a welder. So he had a lot of stuff that kind of, he was a showy person.
And so I grew up, literally, I had petrol from the teat. And I felt like I'd found myself,
I don't know, it's a pretty weird feeling, but I just loved it, loved the feeling,
the exhilaration and really since 2011, I've never looked back.
So notwithstanding what you've just said about the RAC and the Brighton to London,
talk to me about how you got involved then in sort of swapping that round and making it London to
Brighton and the origin of that actual event. Yeah. I mean, I was working with Tom Druitt who
ran the Big Lemon Bus Company, the first electric bus company, fully electric bus company
in the UK. And we were sat in the back of my car. It was 2019, thinking about things we could do.
We were working on a development project in Brighton. I'd worked in PR many times,
I've been a journalist for a long time. And we both thought it'd be nice,
he wanted to showcase his buses and to see what they can do. So he had a vested interest
in making something, not for profit, interest, but just a way of showcasing what he was doing.
I had an event experience and I could say worked a bit for the BBC and sort of doing stuff all over
the place for different commissions and stuff. So it kind of felt like a fun thing to do.
And also London to Brighton is kind of at least 59 miles, but it summons that interest.
People think of Genevieve or scooters lined up along Brighton Seafront.
So for me, it was a way of updating what had been going on for about 175 years.
It's certainly an iconic event. I mean, the whole, the original London to Brighton rally,
and as you say, it's got the connotation to be the Genevieve and the mods and the
rockers and that sort of stuff. But you've kind of, you've made it just that little bit
different by putting in the electric aspect of that. So what we should think, I mean, obviously
there's a couple of ways you could do this. You could have said, right, we'll just get as
many electric vehicles as we can, we'll start them here, we'll end them there,
and it'll be a nice day out. But you didn't quite do that. You went a little bit further.
Talk to me a little bit about some of the quirks and the foibles and the little
things that you're putting to make it unique. Yeah, good point, good question.
We wanted to have an experience. So even then, this is six years ago, I felt that if we laid on
something that, you know, for 40 quid, whatever it costs to, you know, to join there and then you
got your breakfast in London, you came together as a group, bearing in mind, we've got about 100
teams taking parts as 100 cars, you know, it's a fairly decent size. But from the outset,
even from the night before, in London, we had to get together, there was drinks,
there was a kind of socialization, it felt a bit like that gumball, cannonball kind of feeling
about it that, although it was only 59 miles, it was a gentle look at how we save energy,
because obviously this isn't a race, this is an energy trial. So back then, you know,
it was like see which ones can form the best. And we wanted to give people breakfast and set
them off on their way, it's how they start, because we want to get them bright and early,
so then we thought, give them lunch, because when they're here, keep them together, you know,
Brighton's quite a big place, we hire the whole seafront, but it's nice to have that feeling
that you're all together in one union, put on some stands and stalls, initially, we didn't know,
we'd grow into having huge concept stands from rounds like BYD and Ford. And then in the evening,
have an awards party that people wanted to go to, so the first one was at the Grand Hotel.
And people were coveting the awards, you know, we had Mark Williams from Farshow and
Allison Ferns from BBC, who's been our constant presenter for the whole thing,
Charlie Bournemouth on the first year, even had Mark Leicester who played Oliver,
who's a big EV fanatic. We put on music, we put on the feeling that you achieved something,
because, you know, six years ago, it was still on the cusp of whether it was going to take off,
you know, whether charging infrastructure would catch up, you and I know how far this has come.
So I wanted to do something that people could really come away from the weekend thinking,
I had a cracking time in Brighton, it's very hard not to have a good time in Brighton.
And the seafront lends itself to that feeling of, you know, everyone's seen the seafront,
they've watched Quadrophenia or they've, you know, they've episodes of Grace,
they're all filmed here. So I felt that there was something that, you know,
let them have a bit of Brighton as well. So we're the only event allowed to cross
Westminster Bridge in procession. So we have all the cards coming from Westminster Bridge,
we film it, I work closely with Westminster Council. And it's been accepted as a kind
of a standard event. So it's an annual event, people covered and I think now we've got
a nice selection of self-builds again. We've got retrofits and we've got, you know,
brand new cars and everyone else. And our rally faithful have been to Paris with us,
they've been to Geneva with us and they've been to Amsterdam with us. So, you know,
we've carried on the challenge, like I say, I was in Paris this weekend,
and scoping some things out in Dieppe and Paris, potentially for another future run over
there. So we've really carefully looked at every element that people can enjoy.
I want to come back to, you know, the Paris aspect to that later on.
When the London Brighton EV rally first started, it was one of those things where
there wasn't, you know, a greater than zero probability that certain vehicles wouldn't
actually make the whole distance from London to Brighton. That's with very, very few
exceptions. That's not the case now. So do you think that the nature of the rally has changed now?
Because it's not, quote unquote, an endurance test. It's a drive in the, what's usually the
lovely summer sun. How have you kind of modified the event to take into account the fact that
it's not as much of a distance or an endurance challenge as it used to be with some of the
earlier EVs? Yeah, good point. Again, I think it's the fact there's only 59 miles,
so people could do it as accessible. We're not all about grand tours and very expensive cars.
We're about people wanting to either get in, find that information on and just have some fun.
So we've introduced Charge and Drive, which is our test drive brand. And so, you know,
along that we did 400 test drives at the rally last year. We did a separate charge and drive
event which had another 350 test drives. So it was a way of just easily getting people
away from showrooms into cars. Sometimes showrooms are quite imposing and, you know,
people feel a bit intimidated. And if you're going for EV for the first time, I'm not saying that,
you know, dealerships are obviously key to us, but it's an easier way of just finding out
for the first time if it's for you. Because some people don't like the acceleration. Some
people don't like the handling. Some people think it's a bit tricky, you know? And,
you know, there is a power element there which you haven't had from your 12-year-old Ford Focus,
you know, TDCI. You've probably had something, you know, that wouldn't pull you out of bed,
whereas they get into something which is nippy, zippy, and, you know, kind of different.
So the rally, I think, has evolved into something that people can really attend. And
we're free to attend. So we had 32,000 people come along to see from last June
on the Solstice weekend. So it's a busy weekend for Brian anyway. Because we close the road,
it becomes more of a spectacle. So we've got stunt shows, we've got music, presenters,
people cross the line, and they come into the, sort of, what do we call it, park fermé.
It's, yeah, it's just a nice way of people showing off their cars as well. So if we've got
a lot of retro fits and we've got a lot of, you know, sort of rebuilds and self-builds,
it's a nice way of showing them off in a setting which is pretty unique. No one else,
you know, there are other rallies around the country, but they're more for like fleets and
people that maybe, you know, like have bigger budgets, you know, we're 40 quid. And if you've
got a classic car, it's free. So we give you free entry, you know, if you've got anything
that's a retro fit or a classic car, we don't charge it because we want to showcase
what can be recycled and reused. And you and I know that the next big phase in EV is the
used car market. Oh, 100%. 100%. And I mean, the big thing I have on this podcast is the fact
that there is, and we're in it, there's an EV bubble and everyone inside the bubble knows and
understands EVs and the benefits. And I think that originally a lot of people participate in the rally
probably had the same feeling. They were in the bubble, but you're trying to expand the event
to more and more people. And you talked about 30 or 1000 people coming through and hundreds of
test drives. Are you gathering any data for how many people who've never driven an electric
vehicle before are actually attending these events and doing test drives? What sort of data
are you getting out of that? So we had a charge and drive event, part of the rally and obviously
the standalone event, 63% of the people attending had never driven an EV before,
or even considered it. So well over half of people attending had never driven.
And for Brighton, which is a pretty progressive city, you know, it's got a good infrastructure
and you've got Believe, Blink and Charge, you're putting in thousands of chargers, rumored to be
over six, maybe 7,000 chargers in the city. The fact that people haven't driven the cars
is staggering. Yeah. I mean, I talked about the bubble and I keep having to remind myself that,
you know, there are what, 30 million cars on the UK roads and the vast majority of
the people who are driving those have never even sat in an electric car, never mind driven them.
And I think it's events like yours, especially the, you know, the test drive options that you have there
and the separate event where you had the people come down, I attended that as well.
You know, I think they're brilliant to be able to bring people in and say, look,
there's no pressure. You've got half a dozen different vehicles you can try. You'd
want to try the BYD, try the BYD, want to do that, you know, absolutely fantastic. So
kudos on that. Well done. Are you finding it easier or harder to get the
dealers to come down and help with the efforts that you're making?
I think it's becoming more dealer based now. So OEMs have set the things up, you know,
I mean, BYD is a great example of, you know, we've worked with them for the last two years.
They are now empowering their dealerships. And I think they're looking at how they
provide feedback information. Geely is the new contender to the market and they've been really
helpful with us. And, and certainly I think we'll see lots of activity with them and obviously
they're associated with LEVC. So I think that they're two big brands that I think have showcased how
you start with OEM and then move into dealer led activitations. Ford's the same, you know,
but Ford did a great promotion with us this summer, but they're empowering
Dinnages, their local dealership network to kind of take up on some of the initiatives that they've
spent money on. So yeah, mixture of feedback really. So we're getting more interest from
sort of the dealer level. And the OEMs I think are looking at more activations on a smaller
level. So I think the biggest shows have suffered a little bit. And it's a shame that London
EV show was delayed this November because we always loved attending that. But looking at Farmbra
and what happened at the Everything Electric show, I think there's a real case to answer for smaller
shows, more compact, shorter time, and being a bit more punchy. And that's why we do things
like powered up. So we've got the conference in January, again free to attend. We're the
only free to attend conference. But what we do is we look at how we can integrate B2B
relationships into common problems and issues. So this year, we're looking at fleet finance and
kind of the future of how people engage. And we've been really, really lucky, like you said earlier,
Jill has joined us and Jill Noel has huge amounts of experience and contact in the industry.
Or the event we did, the first event we did in January this year was
sold out, well I say sold out, allocated out and sponsored. This year we've got sponsors
from Close Brothers looking at the finance, how the infrastructure builds on that.
And another way of just looking at how do you get into the industry, maybe from a different
angle. If you've got SME that's got a small fleet, looking to change, looking to solar power
their depot, looking to look at battery storage and things like that, then we want to look at that.
Because at the rally, we were getting loads of questions about more corporate led things.
Rather than people standing looking at a Tesla, looking at an ice lolly, they wanted to maybe
come in and talk about how our connections over the last 15 years and how they can
further those relationships. So that's why this summer we had a great experience,
sorry last summer with Quinton Wilson, he hosted something for us on the seafront.
And that was the catalyst for us to think maybe we should do a conference
that kind of gave people those opportunities. And also we can use the findings in the rally.
So we talk about things in the rally that we talk about at conference. So we're kind of,
January is a think tank and then in June we sort of follow on from what we talked about.
Hmm. I mean, you mentioned Jill there and I know you've got Harrison working along,
Harrison Hughes working alongside you. Tell me a little bit more about the team because
I'm pretty sure it's more than just two slash three of you, isn't it?
Well, we grow. I mean, Harrison's been a fantastic addition and we went into business together
following our relationship with Tom and we're still obviously good friends with Tom and we
wish him well on everything he does. He does the international leg of the rally.
Harrison, I thought from the very outset, he's an outstanding individual.
He spoke at COP26 when he was 16. He was flown up to Scotland.
And I think a lot of the power behind what we're doing has come from him and his
intuition is Mr. EV, what he doesn't know isn't worth knowing.
And I was always a traditional event manager, journalist, not really specific. I've done
lots of transport related conferences in my previous roles and life. So I knew how to put things
together, but never really had that true acumen he has. And so he joined and we extend the team
closest to rally with Spike and with Melissa, who have worked with us for some time.
And also we obviously have Kevin Booker who Kevin has been with us for the whole time.
So he's a consultant for us and we're a consultant for him. So we kind of do a two-way
streak. And it's really design team behind us, Oli from the design team and helps us with our
socials and things. So we've kind of built a little team that we can beef it up closer to the
rally and the conference. And then hopefully we can continue a relationship with Jill far into
next year. We have ideas about some other stuff we'd like to do. And I think it's the time
for growth now. And I'm slightly proud of the names that you've mentioned. Harrison's been a
guest on the podcast. Quentin's been a guest on the podcast. I think you had Tom Middleditch who
was working with alongside Quentin at the thing. He's been on the podcast. Kevin as well. So
I think I'm batting quite well on that one there. So now just looping back a little bit
to the actual event itself. You focus on efficiency on the rally and prizes are awarded according to
who can do the distance with the least amount of energy used rather than the quickest time.
Can you cast your mind back and think of any particularly weird anomalies that have come up?
Well, the weirdest one and the most wonderful one is Cedric Lynch who joined the rally in
the first two years. Cedric was instrumental in development of the electric motor and he won
both categories both years with his own design motorcycle which was featured in Tomorrow's World
in the 90s, very early 90s. Cedric is an inventor, an engineer and a true pioneer.
But his vehicle kind of looked like a cylindrical torpedo which was steered by his bare feet
and he could cycle and use the power and he won categories in both years. He beat people and
I remember we had the first award ceremony at the Grand and Cedric turned up in his rally t-shirt bare
fee and looked like he'd been dragged through a headbatch which you know he'd been buffeted for
the elements all day and the Grand wouldn't let him in. So we had to fight, I had to go and have
a delicate word with security and just you know and say that Cedric was our guest. I love
Cedric and he's just a true maverick and individual that really helped push the industry.
So I guess you know we've developed a few things. We had the first solar flyover, the planes,
the solar planes that we've worked with did fly past in the first two years and now we you
know you see solar planes everywhere, sorry electric planes everywhere and but we had the
first ones that did the fly past which was great for Brighton Beach. Everyone was looking up
and expecting to see something raw past and then something gently puffed past.
We had solar cars compete, we've had hydrogen cars, we took three hydrogen cars to Paris
and I think they cost four quid, I think it cost four quid in total to get to Paris
with a hydrogen car, they came from North Wales. So I think it's just the amount of you know
quirky self-builds, the individuals, we've you know we've had some real, we made some real
friends and just visiting Paris last weekend and looking at what we did in Paris which was a bit
of a slog for year one. When we went to Paris it was on fire because it was the time of the riots
so we had half the people pull out but it was really interesting. We were waiting to we were
waiting to load at New Haven and I think Rick Bollemier had a phone call, one of it one of his
team had a phone call from the Daily Mail suggesting they found out that we were doing the rally
and it was the first one that had been done and the Daily Mail were saying you do realise the
ferry is going to sink don't you with that many electric cars on board. A genuine call and genuine
trying to get a rise from us. I have got a friend on the mail who did laugh about it and say that
it was kind of a little bit tonguey jig but however it was a genuine call. So I think you
know that's just what we did, we busted some myths you know. I think Tom was great taking
everyone to Geneva and Amsterdam obviously this year showing what long distance can do
and he gets a good following. People follow him to you know those European destinations.
For us it was difficult because we do such a big event on Brighton Seafront and then there
were wards in the night. Tom then heads off at six in the morning the next day.
It was always quite tricky for us so we're trying to get around that again but we would
like to get back to the continent or we'd like our continental friends to come to us
and maybe start from Paris and finish in London.
Well I like that. I've done as you say, I've gone with Tom for the last three years to
Paris, Paris and Geneva and Amsterdam this year and those events start in London and
go down to Brighton then onto the continent. It's kind of a bit of a highlight for me
doing that in various different vehicles which is fantastic. Now one of the big unknowns
for people like myself until a little bit closer to the time is where is it going to
be next year? So we knew it was going to be Paris a couple of years ago and then we kind of
suspected it might go on to somewhere else which turned out to be Geneva and then I had a little
bit of an inkling that maybe we were going, somebody mentioned you might need your clogs
next time so that was Amsterdam. Do you have any hints that you can drop?
Well the only thing I could say is I did have a quick conversation with Tom
and he was asking the price of sun cream so I'm going to let Tom take that question
and I think it might be a further distance but at least at the end of it you may be able
to get your speeders on Gary.
All right I'm going to have to sit and think about that one. I appreciate that thank you very much.
So what's next for the London to Brighton EV rally?
Well we've got already we've got a huge amount of people interested in taking part.
We've got 62 entries confirmed already which is a record for us before Christmas
and we will look to build on the rally and its importance, its place within the annual diary.
It's you know like I say it's going to be something that showcase I really want to showcase
self-builds and how people have put their energy into building their own vehicles
and we've really had great success with that and that's really of interest to me I think
that you know the engineering element and how people have got their fingernails black
with success of building something beautiful. I think that's good OEMs and test drives you
know we are embracing wholeheartedly because I think it's a great way of low pressure ease
and the fact that you know we were over 60% of people that had never driven an EV
and we've done three charge and drives now and it seems to grow we sell that out. The cars
the test drives for the cars are literally going seconds so and that's 26 by only seven cars
on test drives and they go so quickly people register and they literally they're off and
we've got the next one the end of March in Brighton and we've been asked to do one in
West Sussex as well so they're going to be really interesting and they're just you know
that's that's a good dealer exercise and that's a way of embracing some of the charging companies
as well and seeing how they're going to work within residents and you know domestic areas
and then the rally will build up to the point where you know hopefully we've got
various destinations we've been offered different destinations and we're looking at that you know
we're actively looking at interesting sites either from London or from Brighton the home so you know
we'll definitely do that and grow the conference powered up maybe we'll outgrow the transport
museum we can only get 110 people in at the moment it's a nice feeling and I've you know
I've grown businesses in the past and grown too quickly and it's like oh it's a beast
now it's enjoyable now I feel you know and I'm not you know I've got Harrison who's extremely young
and focused and you know and I'm an old fart so you know I've got to balance what's what's kind of
you know that what I want to do and what I should do and I just love it at the moment I love that
the feeling that we're in control it's not too big that we're sort of we've scaled up too quickly
but we deliver for everyone and we have the same sponsors every year so they keep coming back
and we love them because they help keeping the events free to attend or very very low cost to
attend yeah I think you're doing absolutely fantastic there long may it continue is there
is there anything else you'd like the listeners to know before we wrap up I think it's just you
know please give anything a chance you know give any event that's up that's free to attend a
chance you know it's it's a wonderful like we said my first open this interview it's about
that exhilaration is about that feeling you know I love the fact that this was old school motoring
you stand and chat to people at charging points you know you you pull over at services and you
have a conversation and it's so weird because our cars are branded we've got these two great cars
from BYD they're fully branded and it's a talking point so everyone will come over to us and ask
us about the rally and if you're at a charging port then of course they're going to ask you
because you know you stand out like a sore thumb and if you've got 40 minutes or you know
or less sometime whatever you're driving that's a real that's you know when do you have 40 minutes
to chat to a friend you know it's really odd that you know so if you're on the phone you're
thinking great to catch up I gotta move on when you're charging there's all that pressure off
and you know they're total strangers but you have that common link and that's I think the
rally was sort of helped by that because everywhere I went people would see the car
and ask about the rally and you'd then you'd get a call a week later or a couple of days later
but then signing up you know that's the beauty of it you know we're a very social set of drivers
and passengers and I think that's that's the thing to keep in mind so it's not just
the fact that you're you know you can charge for 7p a night whatever at 7p per hour whatever
you you start making friends it's a network that you grow and eventually you know you can
start coming to some of the events that we fantastic great place to stop there Bill I think
thank you very much Bill for your time appreciate it thanks so much Gary I think you've done so much
of the industry and I love the fact you've contributed and you're always so engaged with us
and you always do everything with a smile I've seen you in so many test drives I said you'll
cross me a little bit fully charged you're driving past me in a van and the smile in your
face was just classic and I just think you've you've got what I've got in in the way that
it's just fun still it's just it ignites something and you'll I think what you've done is
is really special too so well I appreciate that Bill thank you very much
now if you've not been on the London's Brighton EV rally it's a really great event now we
usually meet at Westminster City School in a Victoria central London which has a nice
big courtyard where all the cars can amass and we do that early on a Saturday morning
as Bill says there's breakfast everybody gets t-shirts car stickers and instructions
and then we all depart on a convoy over Westminster Bridge for a nice
co-dap moment and after that it's up to you to make your own way down to Brighton using which
ever route you wish the aim is to use the least amount of energy possible now on the
seafront when you get there there's a whole day of events and demonstrations with lots of
stands and stalls for you to look at you also get a voucher for lunch and towards the end
of the day there's an award ceremony with a bar and whether dependent some outdoor
outdoor activities now I've done this event three times and this year will be the fourth time
the date is the 20th of June 2026 I'll put a link in the show notes to the website
so that when the tickets are available you can buy them immediately
now it's time for a cool EVR renewable thing to share with you listeners Ikea or as we know it here
Ikea in Canada has completed 72% of its home deliveries with electric vehicles in August
the company built EV charging infrastructure without charging customers extra and this
move supports Ikea's goal of 90 0 emission deliveries by 2028 Ikea said he'd invested 3.75
million dollars presumably Canadian to build its charging network with 1.175 million in funding
from the natural resources Canada's zero emission vehicle infrastructure program the ZVIP it's
installed 90 EV charging ports across 17 of its home delivery fulfillment units retail stores
and warehouses in Canada so well done Ikea the EV musings podcast is sponsored by ZAP map
the go-to app for EV drivers helping you find and pay for public charging with confidence
see what charge points are available right now with live availability
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ZAP map and charge with confidence I hope you enjoyed listening to today's show and it was
put together this week with the help of Bill Murray if you have any thoughts comments criticisms
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please like subscribe leave a comment on youtube because it really helps thank you very much if
you've reached this part of the podcast and are still listening thank you why not let me know
you've got to this point by messaging me at musings.beesky.social with the words rally
rally hashtag if you know you know nothing else thanks as always to my co-founder Simon you know
he's talking about a sponsored electric unicycle ride around the world he wants to set off in the
middle of winter from Siberia and end up crossing the Sahara in the height of summer I told him
he was mad to try and do such a thing at those times of the year and he told me well we've
got already we've got a huge amount of people interested in taking part thanks for listening bye you
About this episode
The London to Brighton EV rally has evolved from a challenging endurance test into a vibrant celebration of electric vehicles, showcasing everything from self-built retrofits to the latest models. Bill Murray, the rally organizer, shares the event's history, its unique social and energy-efficiency focus, and how it fosters community among EV enthusiasts and newcomers alike. The rally now includes test drives attracting many first-time EV drivers, dealer involvement, and a growing international presence with events in Paris, Geneva, and Amsterdam. The episode also highlights the rally's role in breaking myths about EVs and promoting sustainable transport culture.
Original notes
In this conversation, Bill Murray from Electra Connect shares his journey into the world of electric vehicles (EVs) and discusses the evolution of the London to Brighton EV Rally.
He highlights the importance of creating a unique experience for participants, engaging new audiences through test drives, and the role of dealers and OEMs in promoting EV adoption.
Bill also emphasizes the social aspect of EV driving, the innovations introduced in the rally, and the future plans for expanding the event. The conversation showcases the growing community around electric vehicles and the excitement of transitioning to sustainable mobility.
Guest Details:
Bill Murray: Ev Rally - EV enthusiast since 2011
The EV Musings Podcast is sponsored by Zapmap, the go-to app for EV drivers, helping you find and pay for public charging with confidence.
Links in the show notes:
- 2026 Rally - London to Brighton
- 72% of IKEA deliveries made by EVs, at ZERO cost to consumers - Cool thing
Episode produced by Arran Sheppard at Urban Podcasts: https://www.urbanpodcasts.co.uk
(C) 2019-2026 Gary Comerford
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The EV Musings Podcast
Gary Comerford
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