Photo: Benny Kirk/ autoevolution
As our coverage of the 2022 New York International Auto Show continues, you'll undoubtedly begin to see a recurring theme with this year's show that will become more and more like the norm as each year passes. At the Jacob K Javits Center this year, the electric car, for all intents and purposes, declared victory over international combustion.
At the very least, the number of EVs on display at global auto shows is substantially more than it's been in over 100 years. From the lowliest Chevy Bolt to the Mustang Mach-E editions of the New York City Taxi, EV Sanitation vehicles, an all-electric ambulance, or any one of the numerous electric models on display and available for test rides this year. What's abundantly clear is that New York State, as well as the auto industry, has spoken. EVs are in, and ICE is o-u-t, out!
The writing was both on the wall and on so many cars on display in New York this year. For some context, back at the very first running of the New York Auto Show back in the year 1900, as much as a third of the entire showroom floor was dedicated to noninternal combustion-powered automobiles. While that also included steam engines, admittedly, most of the divergent powertrains at the very first show were very early battery EVs.
We can't say for certain whether the number of EVs on display matches the figures from these very early auto shows. But rest assured, this ratio is slanted more towards electric drivetrains than it has been in the last century at least. But there's so much more behind the electric vehicle presence at the New York Auto Show this year than merely the cars themselves.
Any auto industry needs infrastructure to keep itself going. It's a service that New York State is not going to wait around to simply be given to them. With New York City and its neighboring suburbs in Westchester, Nassau, and Suffolk counties implementing their own statewide EV charging grids with state-of-the-art fast-charging capability, there's every reason to suspect New York's EV infrastructure will be some of the most robust and efficient in North America.
Entire sections of event floor real estate were dedicated not just to electric cars but to this very infrastructure we speak of. It seems like every manufacturer on hand, from Alfa-Romeo (Stellantis) to VinFast, had some form of an at-home EV charging system on display this year, ready to show you how filling up with electricity needn't be any trickier nor more expensive than filling up with gasoline at the average fuel station.
It's a practice at this year's event and likely all auto shows henceforth that were driven home by New York Governor Kathy Hochul during her speech before the announcement of the World Car of the Year Awards. The event officially commenced this year's New York auto show that also. In her speech, Governor Hochul made it clear that state funding, not federal funding, which may or may not make it past Congress, will be the muscle behind New York's EV transformation.
No matter which perspective you take when it comes to electric vehicles, whether you're in favor of them or not, New York State has one message for you. This message is that the future of the auto industry is the domain of battery EVs, and if you have a problem with this, you can kindly remain upset. Rest assured, some petrolheads will be upset and still believe wholeheartedly that electric cars are A, the work of Satan, or B, not the real path forward for the American automotive sector to follow.
Let us be the first to tell you that we completely understand your opinion. If you believe this, we love V8s and loud exhaust as much as the next person. Furthermore, there are more than a few very logically sound reasons battery EVs might not be the correct choice for the auto industry to follow, blasted lithium mining and all. But to this, we'll only say one thing in response. Many of us around here were EV skeptics as well. But all it took was one stop of the accelerator in an F-150 Lightning at this year's show to let us know the future, at the very least, will not be slow.
But what are your thoughts on the EVs displayed at the NYIAS this year? Are you interested in giving them a closer look? Or would you not touch one with a ten-foot pole? All perspectives are fair and valid, but let us know in the comments down below.
Check back real soon for more from our coverage of the 2022 New York International Auto Show here on autoevolution.
The writing was both on the wall and on so many cars on display in New York this year. For some context, back at the very first running of the New York Auto Show back in the year 1900, as much as a third of the entire showroom floor was dedicated to noninternal combustion-powered automobiles. While that also included steam engines, admittedly, most of the divergent powertrains at the very first show were very early battery EVs.
We can't say for certain whether the number of EVs on display matches the figures from these very early auto shows. But rest assured, this ratio is slanted more towards electric drivetrains than it has been in the last century at least. But there's so much more behind the electric vehicle presence at the New York Auto Show this year than merely the cars themselves.
Any auto industry needs infrastructure to keep itself going. It's a service that New York State is not going to wait around to simply be given to them. With New York City and its neighboring suburbs in Westchester, Nassau, and Suffolk counties implementing their own statewide EV charging grids with state-of-the-art fast-charging capability, there's every reason to suspect New York's EV infrastructure will be some of the most robust and efficient in North America.
Entire sections of event floor real estate were dedicated not just to electric cars but to this very infrastructure we speak of. It seems like every manufacturer on hand, from Alfa-Romeo (Stellantis) to VinFast, had some form of an at-home EV charging system on display this year, ready to show you how filling up with electricity needn't be any trickier nor more expensive than filling up with gasoline at the average fuel station.
It's a practice at this year's event and likely all auto shows henceforth that were driven home by New York Governor Kathy Hochul during her speech before the announcement of the World Car of the Year Awards. The event officially commenced this year's New York auto show that also. In her speech, Governor Hochul made it clear that state funding, not federal funding, which may or may not make it past Congress, will be the muscle behind New York's EV transformation.
No matter which perspective you take when it comes to electric vehicles, whether you're in favor of them or not, New York State has one message for you. This message is that the future of the auto industry is the domain of battery EVs, and if you have a problem with this, you can kindly remain upset. Rest assured, some petrolheads will be upset and still believe wholeheartedly that electric cars are A, the work of Satan, or B, not the real path forward for the American automotive sector to follow.
Let us be the first to tell you that we completely understand your opinion. If you believe this, we love V8s and loud exhaust as much as the next person. Furthermore, there are more than a few very logically sound reasons battery EVs might not be the correct choice for the auto industry to follow, blasted lithium mining and all. But to this, we'll only say one thing in response. Many of us around here were EV skeptics as well. But all it took was one stop of the accelerator in an F-150 Lightning at this year's show to let us know the future, at the very least, will not be slow.
But what are your thoughts on the EVs displayed at the NYIAS this year? Are you interested in giving them a closer look? Or would you not touch one with a ten-foot pole? All perspectives are fair and valid, but let us know in the comments down below.
Check back real soon for more from our coverage of the 2022 New York International Auto Show here on autoevolution.
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