in 2019. However, he had to wait to host the first event until 2021 due to coronavirus-induced lockdowns. He already had a background in organizing and producing large live events, including concerts and live brand activations. A lot of the events he ran were in the motorsports and powersports industry.
BJ wanted Electrify Expo to be different from a lot of the auto shows where people are looking at cars behind a velvet rope, and quite often these events tend to be very constrained events in convention centers. Most of the time, if they have product demo experiences, they are brief and held in the basement of a convention hall, for example, or quick drives through start and stop traffic in the downtown area near the convention center. This, to him, did not offer the best experience.
BJ Birtwell says a lot of automakers are seeing that they get a lot of throughput and a lot of demo rides at these Electrify Expo events. They are always maxing out on their demos and have been incrementally adding more cars to the demo rides section of the Expo. The OEMs are seeing this as an event to really get behind and support. It is this support from the auto manufacturers that has really help propel the Expo to become the largest electric vehicle showcase event in North America.