The 3rd International Electric Vehicle Expo, which kicked off Friday on Jejudo Island, has gradually transformed into an ideal venue for stakeholders in the global EV adoption, including government officials, industry executives and leading academics, for the past three years since its inception in 2014.

Jejudo, a beautiful resort island located off the southwestern coast of Korea, was the perfect place to attract the event as it has sought its eco-friendly vision to become a carbon-free island by 2030. 

``The size of the sole global exhibition, dedicated to pure electric cars (among eco-friendly vehicles), has doubled this year from a year ago, bringing together administrators, thinkers and business leaders, who have a stake in shaping the global EV industry, from 24 countries,’’ Kim Dae-hwan, chairman of the IEVE organizing committee, told The Korea Herald in a phone interview.

“I expect the latest IEVE will lay the foundation toward the so-called ‘Davos forum’ for EVs beyond a trade show.’’

Behind the fast expansion of the pure EV exhibition is the impact of the first-ever universal, legally binding global climate deal, signed by 195 countries in Paris last December. “Simply put, the landmark pact means more EVs,” Kim added.

This is why different from the two previous expos, the IEVE organizer designed multiple conferences where the stakeholders of the EV industry can interact with each other to share their ideas and insight.

The Leaders’ Roundtable, held in Friday, which attracted mayors from eco-cities in the world like Zermatt of Switzerland and Bornholm of Denmark, is one of such discussion-driven programs.

Mayors of cities that allow only EVs on the streets presented their green city vision and the impact of the vehicles on citizens’ life.

“After the discussion session, participants issued the ‘Jeju Statement’, pledging global exchanges and cooperation in building regulatory environment required to create demand for EVs,’’ Kim said.

In response to the talks by governmental officials, corporate executives from EV makers, including French carmaker Renault and Chinese EV maker BYD, discussed the latest industry trends and ways to expand their EV business at the CEO Summit.

“Other key highlight of the 3rd IEVE is the international gathering to discuss charging standards, which is necessary to facilitate the EV industry,’’ Kim said.

Together with the Korean Agency for Technology and Standards, the International Electrotechnical Commission, the international standards and conformity assessment body for all fields of electrotechnology, launched the first committee meeting to discuss a global framework for the EV charging system.

“The transformation of the IEVE into a forum for a variety of stakeholders involving the pure electric cars will also contribute to turning Jejudo into a global test bed for EVs ,’’ the IEVE organizer said.

Jejudo leads other cities in electric car penetration in Korea. There were a total of 2,366 EVs on the roads of the island by 2015, which took the 40 percent of the total EV supplies nationwide. Another 4,000 EVs will be supplied to the island this year.

By Seo Jee-yeon
(jyseo@heraldcorp.com)