Telling Tales: how to sell an electric car in

a petrol market

The story of the G-Wiz Keith Johnston, October 2011

Table of Contents

Gentlemen, start your motors P2

October 2011 P4

How it all started P5

A new approach to car retailing P9

Right people, right places P13

A remarkable community P16

Spreading the word P17

The power of storytelling P25

Accolades P28

Introducing the concept of Verbal Identity P31

Taking the high – and highly visible – ground P34

Polarising opinion P36

The bully in the playground P38

What the media said P42

G-Wiz customers have their say P50

The future P54

Appendix:

A brief history of electric vehicles P57

The truth about electric vehicles:

- The emissions debate P60

-Why we need electric vehicles P62

The people behind the brand P67

Final thoughts P70

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“Keith has given us a unique insight into the creation of an iconic brand which became a household name in record time. What is particularly pleasing is that unlike some others, this was no accident or even timing bubble, it was very well thought through, planned and executed.

Not many can claim to have earned a whole chapter in the future text books of their chosen profession. Keith Johnston, his backers and the whole G-Wiz team have done just that and a great deal more.”

Iain Sanderson, founder and chairman, Lightning Electric car Company. “GoinGreen redefined the concept of investing in a car. These guys have put their heart and soul into these cars. In everything they write and every interaction they have, their passion oozes out.

It's a tough challenge to move several billion mindsets and get us thinking seriously about our combined impact on the world. Faced with a car market that is dominated by massive dinosaurs, who would have thought a few guys banding together with no marketing budget, a revolutionary approach to sales and a product that ignores everyone who says it's too hard and IS 100% carbon neutral would stand a chance? Bravo.”

Olivier Blanchard, thebrandbuilder.blogspot.com.

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Gentlemen, start your motors

This is a tale about how to sell an electric car in a petrol market.

It is the story of how a privately funded London start-up, sparked a motoring revolution. GoinGreen took a small, slow, Indian-made electric car and transformed it into the UK’s best selling, and then one of the world’s most famous and best selling EVs (electric vehicles).

Like the first mobile phone or computer, the G-Wiz blazed a trail for electric vehicles. It became a London icon and for a few years made London the EV capital of Europe, helping to kick start the global market for electric vehicles. The CEO of BMW has spoken publicly about building a G-Wiz competitor and the likes of Tesla, Nissan, Peugeot, Citroen and Mitsubishi have all done so, all of them superior products and all of them available for sale today. But whatever your view of the G-Wiz - as quirky, charming and cute, or ugly, basic and crude - today, in the Autumn of 2011, approximately half of the passenger electric vehicles on the road in the UK are G-Wiz.

The G-Wiz has appeared in movies and on TV, in current affairs programmes, dramas and comedy sketches, in countless news reports in more than 50 countries and in textbooks on climate, transport and energy. In a four year period from 2004 to 2007, GoinGreen’s efforts were recognised with more than

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two dozen accolades starting with Business of the Year at the T Mobile Startups Awards. Distributors in more than twenty countries tried to emulate the success of the G-Wiz but struggled to sell more than a few dozen vehicles in most of these countries. The notable exceptions are India, where the vehicle is promoted by the manufacturer under its eponymous brand name Reva, and Norway, which like the UK leads the way in Europe for interest in EVs.

How did we do it? The G-Wiz succeeded because GoinGreen adopted a low cost operating model, because everyone at the company passionately lived and breathed the cause, and because of the way the G-Wiz was marketed.

We thought long and hard about the business and what might work for us. We challenged the idea of cars as symbols of freedom and uninterrupted mobility with no consequences. We created the first online-only car retailer. We tapped into the trend for digitally empowered consumers seeking to be more socially responsible. Without any advertising, showrooms or salespeople and by focusing exclusively on PR, word-of-mouth and digital communities we explained the inconvenient truth about our addiction to cars fuelled by oil. We faced opposition from many quarters, including the ire of an industry wedded to petroleum and joined by some media commentators, such as Top Gear’s Jeremy Clarkson, who like many in the car business simply could not understand why anyone would buy such a vehicle. Or more correctly, buy into such an idea. All you have to do however, is tell the tale.

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October 2011

Today, and every day since 2008, more than 1,000 private motorists have been driving their G-Wiz and demonstrating to millions of fellow Londoners and to the many tourists that electric cars are a viable alternative to the internal combustion engine. Visit any underground car park or walk around one of a number of London’s grand squares and you may well see more G-Wiz than any other make of vehicle – often parked one after another.

You may not believe me, but within a few years you too will be driving an electric car - and you will enjoy it. Cars powered solely by engines fuelled by petrol or diesel will look as contemporary as your old CD collection, whilst charging your electric car will be as easy as downloading from iTunes.

Who would have thought?

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How it all started

In October 2003 I was the newly appointed managing director of a privately funded start-up in Leeds called GoinGreen, a for-profit social enterprise that had a contract to import and distribute an electric car*.

I had no experience in the automotive industry. After studying social sciences at university I had spent my career to date in communications and had founded and run two successful communications agencies in Hong Kong and London, both of which were sold to agency groups.

GoinGreen and the G-Wiz were not my idea. I joined up to launch the business after seeing an advertisement in the Sunday Times and after seeing off more than 100 other applicants for the job. I was excited at the prospect of taking on an established industry with a disruptive technology that could impact positively on the world. I was keen to be a part of the high calibre GoinGreen team and I could see the potential of the business to effect social change.

The founders of GoinGreen, Nick Hewson, Steven Cain and John French, had discovered the Reva electric car on a Leaders Quest trip to India in 2002. Reva Electric Car Company, the Bangalore-based manufacturer of the Reva, had already spent nine years developing the technically advanced

*The G-Wiz is actually a micro-car, classified in the UK as an L7e

heavy quadricycle and not an M1 category car. For simplicity, it is referred to here variously as an electric car, electric vehicle, or EV.

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drivetrain technology by the time the deal was struck to import the vehicle to the UK.

Following a nine-month test period and more than 100 subsequent changes to the original test model, GoinGreen obtained the type approval certification to sell the Reva. Due to a potential conflict with another car previously on sale (the Lada Riva), the Reva was rebadged as the G-Wiz AEV (automatic electric vehicle) for the UK market. (In the twenty plus other markets in which the vehicle was later sold it was marketed as the Reva).

In October 2003, the month I joined the business, we placed the first order for ten containers, a total of 40 G-Wiz.

Although there were other electric vehicle manufacturers, like Reva Electric Car Company they were relatively small-scale operations. No market had been created, there was no consumer demand, no trade supply from any of the established global manufacturers and no public charging infrastructure. GoinGreen and G-Wiz were new brands and the G-Wiz was one of several similar electric vehicles coming to market at the time.

The G-Wiz wasn’t very big or very comfortable, it didn’t go very fast or very far and like a mobile phone, it needed recharging frequently. In fact as far as ‘cars’ go, the G-Wiz did not tick any of the usual boxes. It did however have three great features: zero tailpipe emissions, a competitive price compared to other electric cars, and, thanks in part to our efforts and those of our customers (including the lobbying of MPs leading to Early Day Motions and changes in

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policy), some valuable central and local government motoring concessions.

A government grant from the Energy Saving Trust’s Powershift programme offered a generous purchase subsidy to encourage the sale of EVs, but this was withdrawn a few weeks after the launch of the G-Wiz. To make matters worse, the Energy Saving Trust announced that the grant would return at the beginning of the following financial year, effectively creating a sales vacuum. When the grant was reintroduced, it was less than half the previous amount and in 2005 it was withdrawn altogether having been deemed illegal under EU rules on state aid.

In addition to the chaos caused by the grant situation, it became clear that we needed to relocate our fledgling operation from Leeds to London. London was our chosen market because it was where we thought the early adopters of electric cars would be and where the politicians and civil servants that could influence the EV market lived and worked. It is also where the key media were.

In August 2004 we moved the GoinGreen operation to Southall, 12 miles west of central London, near Heathrow airport. The new site had space for unloading the G-Wiz shipping containers, plenty of parking and storage for vehicles, a repair workshop and small office. Southall also has a strong Indian community, perfect for the rotation of Reva engineers stationed with us from Bangalore, who trained our UK engineers and liaised with the factory regarding software patches and other technology upgrades. It was far from the salubrious agency

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offices that I had been used to previously, but it was ideal for a start-up online business such as ours.

From January 2003, under the London Congestion Charge scheme, motorists were charged £5 (today it is £10) per day Monday to Friday, to enter the central London zone. EVs on the other hand were - and still are, although no longer exclusively - exempt. I lobbied the London councils with the objective of obtaining incentives for EV owners, such as free parking and free charging for electric vehicles at the large municipal Masterpark car parks, free parking on kerbside meters and eligibility for two G-Wiz in a single parking bay, both free of charge. Westminster City Council, who are responsible for a large part of central London, deserve special praise for their efforts in pioneering electric vehicles and EV infrastructure and set a great example for other councils to follow. They stand in stark contrast to their neighbour City of London, whose obfuscation and withdrawal of support was equally noteworthy.

By the end of 2005 the thousands of pounds worth of incentives for EVs, together with a purchase price of under £10,000 and low running costs meant that we had a powerful financial case for the G-Wiz, whilst the now-you-see-it, now-you-don’t grant issue had come to an end.

I now needed to build an emotional proposition for the G-Wiz, but first a few words about selling cars without showrooms.

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A new approach to car retailing

The car industry might be big but in 2003 it had become homogenised beyond belief, conservative, risk averse and predictable. Nonetheless in order to compete against powerful global car marques and established dealers with beautiful showrooms it was obvious that we had to find a new way to distribute and sell the G-Wiz.

Early on the media often compared the G-Wiz with a Smart car. Smart had previously prepared the ground for small urban cars and were spending a lot of money on marketing, amounts against which we could not compete, at least not on their terms.

So we rethought our approach. As the textbooks say, breaking with tradition is an important aspect of disruptive marketing.

The first thing we did was adopt an online-only operating model. I believe that GoinGreen was the first pure online car retailer. It was a bold move for a high-ticket item, particularly one that conventional wisdom said had to be sold face-to-face in a showroom. In 2003 I spoke to several dealer principals and each of them told me that no-one would buy a car online. They thought we were crazy.

We sold online in order to retail the G-Wiz at the lowest possible price and because with no existing dealer network legacy, we could. It was also to minimise our own overheads and as a green company, to minimise our waste (no printed brochures for example). An online operation not only differentiated our business but the technology of the web suited the technology of an electric vehicle,

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representing the future of retailing. It provided convenience to customers as it simplified purchasing and meant ordering our product was possible day and night.

As a consumer I have no fond memories of buying a car in a showroom. The sales techniques are obvious and leave me cold when done poorly. There were no car salesmen at GoinGreen and this was our second point of difference. Prospects booked test drives - available seven days a week - via the website and we offered a choice of convenient central London locations where they were met by one of our test drive team, called co-drivers.

The only face-to-face contact during the sales and marketing process was when one of our co-drivers conducted a test drive. Co-drivers were mostly environmental science graduates, young men and women who were not trained in selling techniques, but who were knowledgeable and motivated by sustainability and the environment. Harmi Palder, now ‘demonstrator-in-chief’ has been making prospects smile for nearly eight years and is as enthusiastic now as he was when he joined back in 2004. G-Wiz owners also volunteered as co-drivers, and with a conversion rate better than 1:2 test-drives to sales, this unusual strategy worked well for us. Given that many of the people taking test drives were what we called ‘tourists’ – the technology curious who had no intention of buying – this was a remarkable achievement.

Everything related to the purchase process could be performed online, with telephone support. All pricing information was available on the website

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and there were no discounts offered or entertained, except during our own promotional periods. In this respect we followed the online airline model. G-Wiz could be purchased from stock or made to order, depending on what the customer wanted and how patient they were.

G-Wiz were configured, service packages selected and orders were placed online, with deposit taken by debit or credit card. We limited the models to a standard and a ‘luxury’ package, with unlimited colour options and full bodywrap personalisation, which was managed by us here in the UK initially and later by the factory in Bangalore. We invited fashion designers to develop limited edition bodywraps in order to showcase this feature, a tried and tested collaborative technique. I remember the actress Kristin Scott Thomas chose a leopard print G-Wiz, but soon tired of the paparazzi ‘papping’ her in what was an easy to spot vehicle.

Thirdly, all after sales support was available online with telephone support, from product information, warranty and service details to service booking and repairs. We tried to get as close to a paperless operation as possible.

We broke the category conventions in other ways too. We could have doubled our sales had we taken a multi-channel approach, but instead we rejected all requests from car dealers around the UK who wished to sell the G-Wiz in their showrooms and we restricted our after sales support to the Greater London area. This was so that we could be close to our customers, understand them and be able to provide our own engineer support, rather than use

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third parties. This was important given the early nature of the technology and the higher incidence of customer support required.

We thought carefully about how we could optimise customer service. Engineers and technicians for electric cars did not exist so we trained up a small team, led by the tireless Derek West, Alex Pierce and Alan Gladwin. The majority of our customers were cash rich and time poor so we introduced mobile servicing: a premium service whereby our engineers attended our customers’ homes or offices to maintain and service their G-Wiz, as it saved them the inconvenience of bringing their vehicle to our Southall service centre. In 2009 in the US, EV pioneer Tesla announced the Tesla Ranger mobile service team, operated along the same lines.

We also introduced an engineer call-out service, a rapid-response chargeable service similar to that provided by a plumber. We also provided a free breakdown recovery service for the first year of ownership. We could not prevent technical glitches but we made every attempt to minimise the customer pain when they occurred.

We created a used G-Wiz section on the website, providing a forum for customers to sell their G-Wiz if they were upgrading to a newer version, or perhaps moving out of London. We offered an ‘approved and guaranteed’ certificate that helped maintain G-Wiz resale values significantly above average – according to G-Wiz Owners Club research, the two and three year depreciation of the G-Wiz was the lowest on the market, comfortably beating Mercedes, Audi and Porsche.

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Right People Right Places

It was obvious that we had to find a different way of promoting the G-Wiz.

We did not have enough funds to build the brand using conventional advertising or direct mail and the return on investment would not have made sense. We decided instead to put our entire limited marketing budget into PR. Public relations can offer exceptional value when it comes to brand building and awareness, especially for start-ups. We chose Rossana Tich PR, an agency that specialised in retail, fashion and design – but not automotive. Choosing Rossana was a bold decision and not without risk, but I had a hunch that it was precisely this unencumbered – and uninhibited – approach that was required.

Rossana and I reviewed the market and crafted a communications strategy that we summarised as Right People, Right Places.

Right People We chose for our target market London’s liberal elite; senior professionals and business owners from the arts, media, creative and professional services industries. These were entrepreneurial men and women who were environmentally engaged, lived in central London, had off-street parking (to make possible charging at night), were educated, high income earners, with families, heavy users of digital technology and media and in positions of cultural influence. They represented less than 0.1% market share and we gradually became comfortable with the

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fact that it did not matter if 99.9% of car buyers rejected our efforts and did not purchase a G-Wiz.

My gut feeling, which ran contrary to the thinking of our EV competitors, was that in spite of the rhetoric and exhortations from politicians and the growth of corporate social responsibility (CSR), the innovators and early adopter segments of G-Wiz buyers were more likely to be private motorists than fleets. There were two reasons for this: I believed that environmental issues and choices remained a largely personal matter back in 2004 and that the G-Wiz was ideal as the second, or third car in a family – one that could be used everyday as a city runaround or commuter car in London’s congested traffic.

It transpired that we had two groups of private customers. The first, and larger, could be categorised as wealthy, green and technology savvy. Typically men and women in their forties and fifties, they wished to contribute towards a better future for their children and saw driving a G-Wiz as a form of personal carbon off-setting for their extensive business travel, polluting first (and often multiple) cars and long haul holidays. They were keen to demonstrate the viability of EVs, gained status from owning green lifestyle products and they wanted to be seen wearing their green badges. They tended to be leaders within their own communities and were exceptional influencers.

The second G-Wiz customer segment was a smaller, more price sensitive group. Whilst many were also environmentally engaged and had a desire to show that EVs were a viable alternative to the

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internal combustion engine, for many the decision to purchase was driven by the financial benefits. Interestingly, for a significant number of these people, the G-Wiz led to, rather than was a result of, their commitment to green issues.

Right Places We limited our geographical focus to London because, that was where our target audience was concentrated and it ensured that we remained physically close to our customers, offering them a good aftersales service.

At the weekends our co-drivers took G-Wiz into central London and parked in Knightsbridge, Chelsea and Westminster and at places like Borough and Camden markets. The cultural context of being seen in the right places (physically as well as in the right media, of which more later) was crucial to our success and something that we were very deliberate about.

In the early days for example, we received many invitations to exhibit at ‘green fairs’. After attending a few shows and exhibitions, it became apparent that these events tended to attract other small start-up companies selling imported EVs such as electric scooters and bicycles made in China and often of dubious quality and presentation. We decided that this was not the environment in which we wanted to show off the G-Wiz. Instead, we chose gallery openings, charity dinners, film premieres and fashion events, in order to associate the G-Wiz with London’s cultural cutting edge, where our target audience would see it as part of the scenery.

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A remarkable community

In July 2005 we held a ‘Picnic In The Park’ in Regent’s Park, at short notice. Instead of showcasing the vehicle in the conventional manner, we invited all G-Wiz owners to participate in a rally around the perimeter of the park and then celebrate with a picnic. Sally Panter, who looked after customer liaison at GoinGreen had persuaded Camden Council to allow us all to drive onto the grass inside the park for the picnic and had also asked customers who had their own businesses to contribute to the event in terms of food, drink and goodie bags – all very homespun. Sally sent out a short email invitation.

It was exciting when nearly 70 G-Wiz turned up, representing two thirds of our customer base at the time. The rally got on to the evening TV news and there was a wonderful photograph in The Times newspaper of the 70 G-Wiz all lined up before the event. We felt very proud of our little community and were reminded of its importance in the promotion of electric cars. There is a well known quote by anthropologist Margaret Mead that says “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful and committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” I think Margaret Mead would be very proud of the first G-Wiz owners in London.

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Spreading the word

In the early days, we gave each new G-Wiz owner 100 business cards printed with an outline of the G-Wiz and the GoinGreen website url. So, whenever enquiring strangers approached - as they frequently did - our customers could simply hand over a card and direct them to our website. Usually though they would end up deep in conversation with the stranger. We came to realise the importance and power of these conversations and of word of mouth generally. I put a map of London on our office wall and we placed a pin at the home of every owner. Watching the pins go on the map, we were surprised to see how close they were to one another, literally people in the same street or area buying as a result of a conversation.

A G-Wiz owner, Mike Boxwell, started The G-Wiz Owners’ Club in 2006. It is still operational today and now called the Reva G-Wiz Electric Car Club to accommodate the vehicle’s spread across Europe - and remains one of the largest EV owners’ clubs in the world. Mike and I agreed that to be effective, the club should be run independently of GoinGreen, but with our full support and encouragement. This was part of a broader strategy to remain as authentic and transparent as we could, to encourage debate and not to attempt to control the messages, or conversations - what I referred to as open-source marketing. We frequently directed the media to the owners’ club site, regardless of the fact

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that there were both positive and negative comments contained on it. Mike Boxwell is also author of The Electric Car Guide series of books. Here is his perspective: “The G-Wiz. Whatever you think of it, there is no doubt that it is the most instantly recognisable vehicle on the road. Tiny, cheeky, full of character and a blast to drive, the G-Wiz is the unashamed antidote to the urban four-wheel drive.

Despite its obvious drawbacks, this little vehicle rapidly became the world’s best selling electric car. But what attracted people to it? I wanted to find out more.

I took delivery of my G-Wiz in the summer of 2006. Like many families, we had two cars and the G-Wiz became the perfect second vehicle: we used it for our entire city centre driving and loved the reaction it always caused. I was instantly hooked by its charm and its sense of fun. I met other G-Wiz owners at a meeting organised by GoinGreen and found a group of like-minded people who enjoyed life, loved the unconventional and who were not afraid to stand out from the crowd.

I set up the G-Wiz Owners’ Club so that owners could keep in touch, share the fun and learn from each other. Hundreds of owners and would-be owners joined and we ended up with an active group with busy internet forums and occasional meetings.

Enthusiasts from around the world were interested and soon the group had an active Italian, Spanish and German-speaking membership. In Germany, there was a large membership despite the fact the car was not officially available in the country

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at the time. Members either bought their G-Wiz from other countries and imported the vehicle themselves, or created a pressure group to ensure Reva began distribution in Germany, which finally happened in 2009.

Although the environmental benefits of the car are obvious, I did not buy my G-Wiz for these reasons. Although concerns about the environment were high on the agenda for many owners, several other owners bought their cars because it was cheap to run, fun to drive and different from the pack rather than from a pressing concern about the environment. Several were car enthusiasts, often owning quite interesting classics or sports cars as well as a G-Wiz.

Yet even these owners found that their G-Wiz made them think more about the environment. Often to their surprise, they found they were regarded as ‘greenies’ because they owned a G-Wiz. Consequently, some people who bought their G-Wiz for non eco-reasons became environmentally aware because they owned a G-Wiz rather than the other way around.

Having a community of G-Wiz owners undoubtedly helped the brand and helped sales. Potential owners had somewhere to come to ask other G-Wiz drivers about the car and help them come to a decision as to whether or not to buy one for themselves. Very occasionally, if there was an unhappy G-Wiz owner, the club membership was able to help them resolve their issues, and the more mechanically minded owners who wanted to maintain their own cars were able to exchange notes and assist each other to keep their own cars on the road.

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Thanks to its strong internet presence and online media centre, newspapers and television channels wanting to cover electric cars frequently contacted us. The club often liaised between the media and owners to provide interviews and occasionally provided cars for review or shows.

The owners club has also had an impact on charging point infrastructure, having worked with both local councils and individual businesses to provide charging facilities. A simple database of public charging points published on the club website and maintained by members inspired one person to set up a nationwide database of public and private charging points, with a ‘lend a plug’ scheme to encourage electric car owners to offer their own charging facilities in return for having access to everyone else’s. Today, the EV Network is the largest and most comprehensive charging point network in the United Kingdom and the model has been duplicated in many other countries across the world.

Some members have gone on to become leading lights within the electric vehicle industry itself. One of the people leading the electric vehicle programme within Ford is a G-Wiz owner. Another provides consultancy services to Volvo. One is now an international journalist and broadcaster, specialising in electric cars and the future of transport. I have become a best-selling author on the subject of electric cars, regularly appear on television and radio talking about electric vehicle ownership and talk to many different manufacturers about the introduction of electric cars.

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By 2010 the owners club had 1200 members in over 30 countries across the world. The web site has been translated into six languages and there are active communities in London and Bangalore. Many owners are on their second or third car and the community goes from strength to strength. Despite the new cars from mainstream manufacturers, the interest in this little car remains undiminished. It looks set to remain a common sight on the roads of London and Bangalore for several years to come.”

Another G-Wiz owner, Danny Fleet, was also

very instrumental in bringing the G-Wiz to wider attention with his video blog, Danny’s Contentment, which he started when he bought his G-Wiz in 2005 and decided to document his EV ownership experience. The site is now called PrimeTime EV and Danny has become an EV pundit in his own right, with invitations to many EV events and launches worldwide - and well worth following.

A contrary media strategy

In developing our Right People Right Places strategy, we also defined the ‘wrong people’, when devising our PR media plan. Uniquely for a car company, the wrong people included motoring journalists, at least for the first 18 months following the launch of the G-Wiz. We believed that the G-Wiz was an easy target for critics used to driving cars with a high level of performance, safety, fit and finish, comfort and the other attributes taken for granted in today’s vehicles.

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So, we seeded the G-Wiz in consumer lifestyle and business media and avoided motoring journalists unless we believed that they would be constructive in their reviews. David Williams of the London Evening Standard, and later Emma Smith of the Sunday Times InGear section were particularly balanced in their reporting and their articles helped us to gradually win over a section – although by no means all - of the motoring press. Rossana encouraged journalists to view the G-Wiz for what it was and not for what it wasn’t, spending many hours pitching and then debating our story.

Although we were targeting a very small and tightly defined London audience, we chose to use a combination of mass media for maximum effect – television news, transport and current affairs TV and radio programmes, daily and weekend newspaper and magazines ranging from women’s glossies through to green publications and local lifestyle magazines. From the beginning we also worked very closely with the emerging green bloggers and online magazines such as Treehugger and later Business Green, who were themselves pioneering green reporting. Rossana was particularly diligent in developing the online relationships, and this played an important role in making the G-Wiz famous. When journalists Googled us, they found positive reviews and thoughtful, informed pieces (at least until a certain Jeremy Clarkson got involved).

This pincer approach gave us credibility in the early years and enabled us to punch above our weight to such an extent that by 2006 I was giving two or three interviews every week, we had a seemingly

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endless round of film crews from around the world coming to Southall to report on the story of the G-Wiz, taking the media coverage international.

The G-Wiz owner was a vital part of our media strategy. Third party endorsement is a powerful marketing tool and we were always delighted by their willingness to be a part of the story, not just to refer new customers. Owners volunteered to speak to the media about their G-Wiz and on several occasions they achieved front covers in the national press including two Sunday Times InGear sections. We also had celebrities speak on behalf of the G-Wiz, the most notable being Krisitn Scott-Thomas talking about her leopard print G-Wiz to Jeremy Clarkson on BBC Top Gear, Jonathan Ross mentioning his G-Wiz on his TV and radio programmes on numerous occasions (and getting a double page spread in Heat into the bargain) and Jade Jagger, who after many years of ownership still mentions her G-Wiz in interviews. In addition to celebrities there were many leading businessmen including famous chairmen such as Archie Norman (ITV) and Sir Victor Blank (formerly Lloyds) who were often spotted driving around London in their G-Wiz and ‘papped’ doing so.

Whilst we frequently had agents get in touch requesting free G-Wiz for their clients, our policy was not to offer any discounts to celebrities (or to anyone else for that matter). I felt that if they truly believed in the idea behind the G-Wiz then a celebrity would pay the same price as everyone else and be all the more genuine in their appreciation as a result.

GoinGreen was asked to lend G-Wiz for numerous TV programmes and films. Highlights

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include the G-Wiz being written into the storyline of Kingdom (Stephen Fry’s ITV1 Sunday night drama) and a Panorama exclusive. Reporter Jane Corbin drove a G-Wiz around London, Birmingham and Manchester - and even down the Santa Pod racetrack – to highlight the rising cost and scarcity of oil. The programme also featured Ray Morrison, a G-Wiz owner who saved £9,000 a year (!) after swapping his 140 mph BMW for a G-Wiz for his daily London commute. Panorama’s researchers conducted a poll and asked ‘would you consider switching to an alternative fuel?’ and 50% said ‘yes’. We proved that there was a public appetite for change.

Over the years, the G-Wiz has achieved global media coverage worth many millions of pounds equivalent in advertising value. For every pound we spent in fees we received around £500 in coverage – I have yet to see better value for money from another marketing discipline.

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The power of storytelling

In ‘How to Change the World: Social Entrepreneurs and the Power of New Ideas’, David Bomstein says "An idea is like a play. It needs a good producer and a good promoter even if it is a masterpiece. Otherwise the play may never open; or it may open but, for a lack of an audience, close after a week. Similarly, an idea will not move from the fringes to the mainstream simply because it is good; it must be skilfully marketed before it will actually shift people's perceptions and behaviour."

Rossana and I built the G-Wiz brand story around an idea, rather than the product. We took responsibility to be the idea’s producers and promoters. The G-Wiz lacked the sophistication and performance that conventional cars had to offer in spite of its wonderfully innovative technology. So instead of focusing on the product and messaging about the technology breakthroughs present in the G-Wiz, or focusing on a customer value proposition based purely on financial and emissions savings, we concentrated on the social role of the brand.

Put another way, instead of trying to find a way for our product to fit into the lives of our customers, we focused on creating a self-referential identity, one that encouraged others to navigate by us and to adapt to our worldview. We tried to change the context in which cars are judged.

Humans make decisions based on emotion and then justify them rationally. I did not believe that the

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G-Wiz would succeed solely through the satisfaction of rational needs such as cheap commuting, but by inviting a realignment of the emotions based on the big issues of climate change, city pollution, oil depletion, and energy security.

Our target audience were parents who cared about the future they were creating for their children. We made the link between cars and emissions and climate change. I spoke about how city pollution caused more deaths than road accidents, and how the UK had one of the highest incidences of asthma in Europe, due in part to diesel particulates. Later, we spoke about energy security and the need to wean our economies off oil and how liquid fuels could not deliver the huge reductions required in carbon emissions. The competitive price of the G-Wiz and the savings to be made in operating costs sealed the deal, once we had engaged our target audience with our purpose. Save the world for less than £10,000? Yes please. We tried to understand the psychology involved in changing the way people think and behave.

To guide us in our messaging, we tracked the reasons given for purchase by G-Wiz customers. In the first three years, the primary reason for purchase was environmental, with cost savings second. Over time, cost savings became equally important, then more important as the UK economy worsened and then plunged into recession.

Many people want to see themselves as part of a bigger story and often G-Wiz owners felt this way, particularly the early pioneers. Internally we used the phrase ‘Leaders of Change’ to describe the mindset

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of our customers. Our story became a way of uniting customers behind our strategy and vision. In fact more than this, our customers took ownership and responsibility for being the change they wished to see - appropriately enough for an Indian made vehicle. Ghandi would have been pleased.

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Accolades

Did the storytelling approach succeed in terms of critical acclaim and recognition? The following is a selection of some of the awards and accolades received, more than would have been received if we had simply tried to market the G-Wiz using traditional product-centric methods: Finalist, Leader of the Year, Business Green Awards, 2011 2011 GQ Car Awards, the Nissan Leaf wins The G-Wiz Award for Eco-excellence UK Top 10 Ecopreneur, Real Business magazine 2008 Industry Market Leadership Award, Environmental & Sustainable Technology Awards 2007 Winner, 50 Best Cars 2007, The Independent newspaper 2007 ‘Worst Car of the Year 2007’, Top Gear Most Environmentally Friendly Car, BBC Wildlife magazine 2007

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Winner, Top 10 Green Wheels, Guardian Unlimited / What Green Car? 2007 Global Top 50 Low Carbon Pioneers, European Business magazine 2007 Winner, City Category, Car Buyers Guide, Environmental Transport Association Awards 2007 Highly Commended, Tackling Climate Change, Sustainable Cities Awards 2007 (runner up to SKY TV) Shortlisted, Carbon Trust Innovation Awards 2007 sponsored by The Daily Telegraph Shortlisted, Red Herring 100 Europe Awards 2006 Best PR Campaign, Green Awards 2006 Innovation Award, Energy Saving Trust Fleet Hero Awards 2006 Commended, Private Sector Innovation, Green Fleet Awards 2006 Commended, Green Marketing Campaign, Green Fleet Awards 2006 Winner, Top Ten Green Cars 2006 Most Environmentally Friendly Car, Green Car Buyer's Guide 2006

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BT UK Top 20 Entrepreneur Award 2006 Winner, City Category, Environmental Transport Association Green Car Awards 2006 Finalist, Marketing Society Awards for Excellence 2005 (runner up to Tesco) Best Website, Green Fleet Awards 2005 Green Marketing Award, Environmental & Sustainable Technology Awards 2005 Ethical Award, Ethical Consumer magazine 2005 Most Environmentally Friendly Car, Green Car Buyer's Guide 2005 Community Impact Award, Startups Awards 2004 Green Marketing Award, Environmental & Sustainable Technology Awards 2004 Business Of The Year, T-Mobile Startups Awards 2004

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Introducing the concept of Verbal Identity

Companies spend a lot of time and money on their brand style and on their visual identity. What I call the verbal identity however is often overlooked. For me, the verbal identity is the missing aspect of a brand in the marketer’s handbook. This is the brand story and the brand conversation and the way a company is structured to optimise the effectiveness of these two elements. A verbal identity has enormous potential to differentiate one brand from another and for new companies to compete against big and established ones. A good verbal identity can also enable old companies to rediscover a powerful customer proposition, one that has been lost over time, and in the last couple of years we have seen an increasing number of examples of this. In particular, great opportunities exist to craft a verbal identity where it is possible to reinvent what people expect, as we tried to do with cars and mobility.

As a social scientist and a marketer I have come to realise that people love stories. We buy stories before stuff. Stuff is about the product, but stories are about something else. Stories provide a meaning and a context. Telling a compelling story means inspiring others to reach the same conclusions you have reached and decide for themselves to believe what you say - and in doing so, undertake your marketing and selling for you.

Telling a story can be like marketing your soul. It’s personal and vulnerable. People value their own conclusions more highly than yours so they will only have faith in a story that has become real for them

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personally. Once people make your story, their story, you have tapped into the powerful forces of trust and belief. Our story came from our personal beliefs and passion. It was real, not manufactured, it stemmed from our purpose to provide sustainable mobility and to encourage responsible motoring.

I view brand conversations as explaining our point of view. How did we form our point of view? We drew a metaphorical line in the sand and challenged our target audience to be part of the solution or remain part of the problem. An old cliché but a powerful metaphor, one that at a stroke repositioned the car industry as the bad guys, knowing that ‘they’ were unable to respond, except to undermine and lobby against our product, because the automotive majors had no EV product to sell yet and a status quo to preserve. Like smoking, or 4x4s in Chelsea, our goal was to make driving a conventional car perceived as increasingly socially unacceptable.

By intensifying our story over time and making it a David vs. Goliath, good vs. bad storyline we made it more interesting and newsworthy. By challenging the belief that big, powerful, highly polluting cars should be aspirational, we introduced an unexpected story element that was contrary to conventional wisdom and this helped to reframe beliefs and make our story more memorable and persuasive. Our emphasis was always on the quality of our message, not the quantity. The quantity came later, an outcome of the quality.

While on the subject of quality, we were indebted to the work of Jonathan Sands, founder of Elmwood brand design consultancy and his team for

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their work on the GoinGreen and G-Wiz brand identities, and to photographer Richard Seymour for shooting some great photos of the G-Wiz over a five year period which helped to establish it as a London icon. Visual and verbal storytelling that really worked.

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Taking the high – and highly visible – ground We tried to establish thought leadership in our category. Being talked about, getting attention, gaining momentum, and trying to lead the agenda were the result of a long and conscious effort over several years to find our voice.

In practice this meant that for the period from 2005 until 2007 I devoted much of my time as a spokesperson for electric vehicles (as opposed to just the G-Wiz), ready with our point of view on whatever event or issue of the day was on the media agenda relating to the environment, transport, or energy.

For example, we tried to move the focus of car ‘performance’ away from speed, range, acceleration and miles per gallon, to a more environmentally focused conversation, to influence the language of cars. A measure introduced by the government is carbon dioxide emissions, calculated in gm CO2 / km. By highlighting that electric vehicles such as the G-Wiz emit the equivalent of less than 60gm CO2 / km on average and only 37gm CO2 when charged at night (based on emissions from the electricity generated at the power station), we began to reframe expectations of what constitutes ‘performance’.

By speaking about well-to-wheel emissions – a measure of emissions that includes not just exhaust emissions but also emissions generated by drilling, transporting and refining oil, we were able explain that well-to-wheel, the G-Wiz was four times better than a typical saloon car – a huge reduction.

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In April 2008 I moved from my role as managing director at GoinGreen and spent a couple of years working with the team at Reva Electric Car Company as president of European operations. I took on the challenge of setting up a European distribution network for Reva and again, I employed Rossana Tich PR to help on the European and the global stage.

In September 2009 Rossana and I took responsibility for the global premiere of the next generation Reva electric vehicles, the Reva NXR and the Reva NXG, at the 63rd Frankfurt International Motor Show. For this, we announced the Born Green initiative, a programme to measure not just the well-to-wheel emissions, but the dust-to-dirt emissions of the whole product lifecycle - to include manufacturing and emissions generated by the supply chain, manufacturing and disposal of the next generation of Reva EVs. This is a sustainable platform, one that has the potential to become very powerful in future. BMW launched their Born Electric programme in 2011, described on their website as ‘a new kind of movement’ and ‘the beginning of a new world of mobility with visionary use of sustainable technology’. Indeed.

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Polarising opinion

By communicating a strong point of view we created a distinction between EVs and conventional cars, between ‘us and them’. I have said that our aim was to reposition conventional cars as ‘bad’ and electric cars as ‘good’. The industry was already doing battle with the European Commission, who were pressing for reductions in average car emissions. As the global car manufacturers had no electric product to sell, this very publicly raised awareness of an issue that at the time they would rather have ignored, – that we could not continue driving cars that use petrol or diesel. This had the effect of polarising opinion.

Politicians such as David Cameron used the G-Wiz in photo opportunities to demonstrate their green credentials. Prince Charles was also happy to be photographed with one. Boris Johnson, when he was still an MP, reviewed the G-Wiz for GQ magazine and subsequently defended it in an opinion piece in the Daily Telegraph newspaper against the Labour government’s call for quadricycles to be banned. Now that he is Mayor of London, Boris Johnson has continued to support plug-in vehicles and introduced the cross-London charging scheme, Source London, seeking to regain London’s title as the electric car capital of Europe, lost recently to Oslo.

A few days before Christmas 2006 cancer charity Macmillan asked celebrities to list their dream gifts for a celebrity Christmas stocking auction, where members of the public could buy their favourite celebrity's stocking stacked with gifts. Choices from people like Victoria Beckham, Claudia

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Schiffer and Elizabeth Hurley included Jimmy Choo shoes and bags, jewellery and holidays however, Sir Elton John picked ‘a Safari at Royal Malewane, a Theo Fennell Skull Ring, a Blackberry Pearl, a pack of Dairylea, Patrick Cox Skull Boots and a G-Wiz electric car’.

At another charity event, a G-Wiz was auctioned for £35,000.

The G-Wiz had entered popular culture – and people were taking sides.

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The bully in the playground Sales had increased steadily and we were

delivering on average one new G-Wiz to a customer in London every day, and three per day in our best month. Then, Jeremy Clarkson decided to use the G-Wiz to position himself as anti-climate change and anti-electric vehicles. It was a clever move that gave him a contentious point of view, one that he has ruthlessly exploited. Using his columns in The Sun and The Sunday Times, his eponymous DVDs, Top Gear, and with BBC Top Gear magazine riding shotgun in support, he embarked upon a crusade against the G-Wiz. It has been reported elsewhere that in one of his DVDs the chassis of a G-Wiz was allegedly cut prior to crashing it to demonstrate its inferior safety credentials, before calling for it to be banned. Throughout all this we resisted the urge to confront this head on (because of his powerful position) and tried to communicate that the evidence clearly indicated that EVs had a better accident record than conventional cars (which they do). The G-Wiz is a quadricycle not a conventional M1 car and not subject to, or capable of passing due to the limits of gross weight, the same safety tests.

We developed the concept of ‘socially responsible motoring’ and worked closely with manufacturer Reva to improve safety features on the second generation G-Wiz model, but it proved an enduring challenge to counter the damage done by Mr Clarkson. There are those who view Top Gear and Mr Clarkson as ‘simply entertainment’, but in my opinion this is to misunderstand what happens. When

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entertainment is presented as expert opinion by technically proficient presenters, the line becomes blurred.

It was bizarre. On the one hand we were being spoken of as pioneers of the future of mobility and receiving fistfuls of awards, on the other there was heavy criticism. There was one particularly strange week when The Independent newspaper placed the G-Wiz at No. 1 in its Top 50 Cars of the Year list and Top Gear voted it their Worst Car of the Year.

Nick Hewson, co-founder of GoinGreen: “I love Top Gear. I like the presenters. I share many of their opinions about many things. Such a concerted attack by Clarkson though, I suppose it’s something I would never do. Most of us have those moments when we know we have done something wrong, morally or otherwise. I really don’t think Clarkson thinks he has done something wrong, morally or otherwise though. I suppose I feel that a right to do something, like freedom of speech, carries with it a responsibility to speak freely but also truly. I can quite believe that he and the other protagonists at Top Gear believed it was a good laugh. I quite understand their concerns for safety, but they didn’t tell the whole story, just the part that suited them, and due to the enormous and well deserved success of the show, the little G-Wiz could not stand up to the bully in the playground.”

It reminded me of the power of the media, which we had used to build up our business, only to suffer in equal measure at the hands of a skilled journalist and presenter. We were achieving our social objectives to get the EV market started, but

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our commercial objectives had taken a hard knock. When in 2009 the UK government announced the 2010 incentive for electric cars offering a grant of 20% up to £5,000 per car and the G-Wiz was excluded from the grant scheme, we realised that microcars were not going to be supported in the UK, at least not the way they are currently conceived and not unless or until the global car companies had product available. It was the coup de grace for the G-Wiz.

Dr Maini, co-founder and former Chairman of

Reva Electric Car Company, comments: “London was the first overseas market for Reva Electric Car Company and it was important not just for our reputation overseas and as a vital contribution to our global sales, but also in gaining acceptance of our technology here in India by Indians. GoinGreen's contribution cannot be underestimated. With no automotive experience they established our technology as the leader not just in the UK but also in Europe. To have created such a high profile, attracted so many famous customers and put electric vehicles on the agenda with such limited resources, was remarkable. As a result, Reva gained the number one sales position for EVs worldwide, attracted significant inward investment and subsequently created a global brand in electric vehicles.”

There are some in the industry who refuse to acknowledge it, but the little G-Wiz was the genie in the bottle. Electric vehicles are now here to stay and it is only a question of how long before the market takes off and then over. In the next chapter I have

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included some media quotes as a reminder of what was said by the various commentators along the way.

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What the media said (in no particular order)

'These guys are on to something - this car is on target!' electriccarinsider.blogspot.com.

'It's a trend-setter...it's now got a real cult following in the capital...'. Green-Car-Guide.com.

'The Electric Wiz Kid - those worried about escalating petrol prices can banish those fears forever with a G-Wiz. A true city car...it does the job.' Motley Fool www.fool.co.uk.

"It looks like the G-Wiz virus may be in danger of becoming an epidemic" Treehugger.

'An instant hit when it launched in 2004, it's popularity on London streets is ever growing. Fast, zippy and totally emission free, of course, we're talking about the G-Wiz.' StyleWillSaveUs online magazine.

[The G-Wiz is] 'One of the Top 10 Automotive New Business Ideas of 2006' Springwise.com (online trend spotting magazine).

'GoinGreen is the future of everything cool. By being smarter, better and more passionate than everyone

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else, these guys have produced the top selling electric car in the world, while creating a devoted customer base.' Simpleandloveable.com.

'The G-Wiz works magnificently. The future is here and it's electric'. AM ('the newspaper for the automotive industry').

'Where are the rivals? Yes there are other electric cars on the market, but even in Congestion-Charge afflicted London, they don't seem to be selling.' Auto IT.

'Cute as a button.' Sunday Times Style magazine, 'Going Up'.

What’s Hot for 2005: G-Wiz. London Evening Standard.

'Smart has failed to focus and allowed rivals such as Indian-made electric car G-Wiz to steal its thunder.' FT.com.

All the youth want today is a G-Wiz.' Jeremy Clarkson, Times Online (when ruefully reviewing the new Vauxhall Corsa).

'G-Wiz is No. 1. It delivers everything you need from a city runabout - as a result it is now the most successful battery electric car in the UK with nearly 1,000 already in use in the capital.' Top 10 Green Wheels, Guardian Unlimited/What GreenCar?

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'With no petrol costs, no road tax, no congestion charge and free parking in London (choose) the well rated Reva G-Wiz'. Sunday Times InGear section, 'First steps in saving the planet.’

The eco-friendly G-Wiz is fast becoming the 'It' car du jour.' Lowri Turner, Grazia magazine.

'The greenest car on the planet.' The Independent.

‘I booked a test drive…and I was hooked within minutes. Reader I bought one. Which was not quite a simple as it sounds: there’s a waiting list of at least three months.’ Alan Rusbridger, Editor, The Guardian.

'I knew I was on to a winner the moment I set eyes on its eager, bug-eyed little face.' Emma Smith, Sunday Times, Driving section.

'Voted 'Good Choice' Good Housekeeping Institute Tried –Tested -Trusted seal of approval, Good Housekeeping magazine.

‘The guy who turns up at your door driving an electric G-Wiz is the sexy option' Mariella Frostrup, Observer Magazine.

'Perfectly good for around town or shopping...it's a jolly-looking car... it just doesn't fit into my car configuration. I've the Rolls Phantom for posh events driven by the chauffeur and the Bentley to drive

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around London. But if you'd like one, I can tell you it's a pleasant experience.' Michael Winner, Daily Mail.

'Those who drive about regularly could get an electric G-Wiz, and if you fancy a speeding ticket, join a car club.' Country Life.

'Electric cars are the future of motoring' Petrolprices.com.

'Electric cars are the fastest-growing form of transport in Britain's crowded capital. The most ubiquitous is the tiny plastic G-Wiz, designed in California and built in Bangalore. Economics accounts for most of its growing charm. With a starting price of about £9,000 it allows Britain's middle classes to make an affordable statement on climate change.' The Economist. 'After getting used to the Scalextric start, I enjoyed driving in town for the first time since the introduction of the congestion charge. Zoom along at up to 45 mph in your dodgem-cum-electric skateboard. Zip in and out of impossibly small places. I'm all for it.' Technopolis, The Financial Times, How To Spend It.

'The car is a triumph.' The Times, body&soul section.

'This dinky darter is ideal for the city commuter'. GQ Style magazine.

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Just plug it in, turn it on and move it out - the G-Wiz electric car offers drivers a stylish and eco-friendly way to get around congested city streets.' Thomas Grose, Time magazine.

'Light, agile and the perfect metropolitan mobility solution, the G-Wiz is also Britain's cheapest car to run by a country mile.' Quentin Wilson, Sunday People, & former Top Gear presenter.

'Fuel efficiency is immense - the equivalent of up to 600 miles per gallon.' Ray Massey, Transport Editor, Daily Mail.

'The Eley Kishimoto G-Wiz. Loved for its eco-credentials, the Whizzer gets a fashion makeover. Woo-hoo.' Sunday Times, Style magazine, Going Up' (again)

'GoinGreen created the electric car market in the UK, MD Keith Johnston is one of the most inspiring small business entrepreneurs.' AutoWired.

'Keith Johnston and GoinGreen deserve huge credit because they've created the market for electric cars in the UK.' Julian Wilford, NICE, Professional Engineering.

'The One To Watch is Keith Johnston of GoinGreen'. Growing Business For Entrepreneurs.

‘The fact is this. Electric cars do not work. The federal government in America teamed up with Ford

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and GM years ago to develop a battery that will get you to the shops . . . and back. They've spent millions and millions and so far have come up with diddly squat.” Jeremy Clarkson, The Sun

'There is a map on the wall of GoinGreen's offices which shows the spread of emission free motoring. It looks like the early stages of a virus, and it is spreading fast.' The Scotsman.

'No. 4, the G-Wiz. What's Cool for summer', Marie Claire.

Electric cars 'one of the most viral ideas of the moment' Fortune magazine.

'No.1: Buy a G-Wiz'. The 50 Best Green Resolutions For 2007, The Independent.

'Fantastic. Wonderful. I wish everyone would sell their horrible, ugly, noisy, smelly cars and purchase a G-Wiz. 'Georgia Byng, London Evening Standard.

'No. 10: Invest in an eco-friendly car - the G-Wiz is a good example.' 27 Ways to Go Green in 2007, The Sun.

'GoinGreen, the company behind the G-Wiz, should be commended on their efforts in bringing such a vehicle to the market, and for some people, in the centre of London for example, it can provide motoring with very low running costs.' caronline.co.in.

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'We're psyched to see GoinGreen has unveiled the third generation of its cult car -- the G-Wiz i makes brilliant sense.' smartplanet.com

‘This is what happens when you let a bunch of nitwits take charge of the greenhouse gas debate. The G-Wiz...A few luvvies in London are not going to make the slightest bit of difference, even if it’s correct that cars are buggering up the ice pack’. Jeremy Clarkson.

" I LOVE my G-Wiz. I want one in Paris. It is such fun to drive, easy to park, nippy and it is great being able to match any one at a green light. Also children laugh when I pass by. Has to be worth it!' ’ Kristin Scott Thomas, Daily Mail.

'By the end of the day I was in a happy little trance. I beetled down alleyways that would have been impassable to my great big fat Toyota. I crept up silently behind people and tooted my little horn. I found that it really could go quite fast downhill; and let me tell you, it doesn't matter a damn that the top speed is only 42mph when the average speed of London traffic is 3mph....All the time it was warming the cockles of my heart with the thought that it was so damn cheap. It seems to cost about 50p to charge the batteries for a 40-mile round trip. Only a bicycle beats that. And not only was I saving money- I was saving the planet! Boris Johnson, GQ magazine.

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‘GoinGreen is the largest zero emissions auto distributor on the planet today'. Newsweek

‘50 Best Cars 2007: No.1: G-Wiz "...it's hard to fault the environmental credentials of this electric runabout. If you have a sustainable-energy supplier, then this is about as planet-friendly as it gets." The Independent. ‘The eco-iconic electric car. Trendwatching.com 2010

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G-Wiz customers have their say

The following quotes are from the GoinGreen website, with thanks.

'The G-Wiz is quite simply the best city car I

have ever owned. Fun to drive, reliable, fits into any parking space and with practically no running costs for either the environment or my bank balance what more could one want?'

- Kathy Panama, London NW3 'My G-Wiz has literally changed my life. No more

horrid London public transport... tremendous economical advantages.....my kids love it....very easy to charge and keep up....more glances than if I was driving a Ferrari'

- Daniel Kay, London NW3 'My wife and I have grown surprisingly fond of

our little G-Wizzer. As well as feeling positively saintly about cutting down the size of our carbon footprint, we have also grown to like the admiring glances that our nippy little car attracts.'

- Jonathan Ross OBE, London NW11 'The G-Wiz is great fun to drive. It's fun to be

seen in (attracting friendly attention from passers-by), it's even fun to cosset, having to remember when it needs a life-saving shot of electricity or a gulp of distilled water. It is also a delight to sail into

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London's congestion zone and know that everyone else is paying, or to park free on any of the immensely expensive meters in Westminster. But for me and my wife, I think the keyword has to be fun - and that's plenty of reason for getting one.'

- Bamber Gascoigne, TV presenter, TW9 'I love my little G-Wiz. It's fun to drive, cute and

the cost savings are just amazing. I am recommending it to all my friends and clients'.

- Nina Kosovecic, London N12 'Many, many thanks for allowing me to have the

most fun I have had in years. After years of discourteous London driving, I am being given right of way, grinned at and even had the odd kiss blown at me. I have suddenly become a cool Mum and permitted to collect a fiercely independent teenager (that won't last). I love it, it ihas made commuting bearable once more.'

- Gail Cohen, London E9 'My name is Anabel and I have upgraded to the

G-Wiz ac drive. I do the school run from Kennington- homestead- Kennington every day. Every day we load it up with school bags, lunch boxes, and my 2 children, sometimes they have friends home for tea, and then the car is full to capacity. Otherwise it still feels roomy enough for the long journey. The children only want to be in the electric car. Preferred car by whole family! My nine year old son says "We love the G Wiz, not only do you help save the planet, BUT you

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get to school quicker as the G Wiz is so small it fits in all the gaps!'

- Anabel Kindersley, London SE11 'I'm absolutely thrilled with my G-Wiz.... not

only do I get a buzz from driving into the congestion charge every day but now I'm told that my environmentally friendly car is the latest must have accessory for female television executives, replacing the Fendi handbag!!'

- Jane Lush, London NW3 'I love my G-Wiz even though it is like Lowly

Worm's car (Lowly Worm as in the Richard Scary books). It puts a smile on my face every time I drive it. When I bought it, I thought the best bit would be the fact that I would feel green and also that I'd save money on parking and fines. Actually the best bit about the car is that going into town is like driving to the local village and a trip is STRESS FREE. No cursing because you haven't got any pound coins, no tripping as you run to stop a parking attendant slap a ticket on your car. No waking up in the night, thinking 's**t I didn't pay the congestion charge'. It is fantastic to be able to cut this sort of rubbishy stress out of ones life. Thank you.'

- Georgia Byng, London NW 'It's now six months since I first got my G-Wiz

and I feel compelled to write to you to let you know how it has changed my life. The convenience of being able to park in Central London at virtually no cost, combined with the ability to park in the smallest of

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spaces is incredible. In particular, the flexibility of having a car in London and not be reliant on the unreliable Tube is like discovering a new freedom.'

- Alex Dee, London NW3 'I have now had my G-Wiz for a year and use it

every day for business, pleasure and for taking my kids to school. I love the fact it is green and saves me money. I would not drive anything else in London and every time I drive my G-Wiz it puts a smile on my face'

- Daniel Englander, London NW6 'I love driving my G-Wiz -- it's fun and practical -

- but most of all I love knowing that I'm not polluting my children's future.'

- Rabbi Deborah Kahn Harris, London N22 '' I tell people that next to my children and my

dog, I love my G-Wiz. I was thinking about why I loved it - it saves on my congestion charge, it saves on my parking-meters, it saves on my petrol, especially it is environmentally friendly, but above all IT IS FUN TO DRIVE!'

- Louisa Service OBE, London NW3

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The future

‘In 20 years, all the cars on the road will be electric’, Warren Buffet.

Stringent European new car CO2 targets mandates the introduction of ultra low carbon cars and enforce a programme whereby by 2020 new cars will emit 40% less CO2 than in 2007. The UK government goal is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2027 and by 80% by 2050.

GoinGreen remains the UK importer and retailer of the G-Wiz and Reva Electric Car Company is now Mahindra Reva Electric Vehicles following Indian conglomerate Mahindra & Mahindra’s purchase of a majority stake in the company in May 2010. The Reva NXR, the model to replace the G-Wiz, is scheduled for launch in India early 2012, a conventional car rather than a microcar. The stunning Reva NXG is scheduled for 2013, a design that will compete seriously for most beautiful EV.

There are now an increasing number of second generation EVs on the market providing greater choice and performance for consumers, albeit at three times the price of the G-Wiz. The Nissan Leaf was the 2011 World Car of the Year, whilst Mitsubishi, Citroen, Peugeot, Ford have all introduced or are about to introduce electric cars. Renault look like leading the pack soon, with the introduction of not one but four affordable electric vehicles priced from £7,000 to £18,000 plus a monthly battery lease from £40 to £70 (the Z.E. Twizy, Zoe, Kangoo and Fluence, the result of a $15 bn investment to date). The UK is

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set to manufacture Nissan electric cars for the European market in Sunderland, whilst British electric sports car developer Lightning Car Company is developing the stunning 700 bhp Lightning GT. Some manufacturers are now experimenting with lightweight microcars, such as Renault with the Twizy, Audi with their Urban Concept, VW with the Nils and Opel with the RAKe.

There are a small but growing number of second generation EV owners here in the UK and globally. They are the innovators, the enthusiastic pioneers who – almost without exception – are enjoying their electric cars and spreading the word that EVs are safe, practical and fun.

Top Gear meanwhile continues to criticize, damn with faint praise and obfuscate in the name of entertainment, but they are merely delaying the inevitable and we will see a change of heart soon enough. Automotive specialist Pike Research estimate that by 2016 there will be more than 150 pure electric and plug-in hybrid electric models for sale and 4.7m charging points installed worldwide.

Looking further ahead, the European Union has targeted 60% of new car sales to be electric by 2030 and to end the sale of conventionally fuelled cars by 2050.

As the percentage of electricity generated from renewable sources increases – the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has set a target of 77% globally by 2050 - so emissions attributed to electric cars will continue to decrease, until we are able to decarbonise transport. Electric vehicles will become cleaner still, powered by renewables and by

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nuclear electricity and in some countries continuously trickle charging via solar roof panels and inductive charging, hidden wireless recharging technology that may be sited at traffic lights and where EVs are parked.

As Carlos Ghosn, CEO of Renault-Nissan stated, ‘The future of cars is electric’.

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Appendix 1. A brief history of electric

vehicles

In the late 19th century there was an environmental problem in places like New York and London. Horses were fouling the streets as they pulled carriages and were making a real stink. The more carriages there were, the worse the stench became. Electric cars were the solution and by 1897 a fleet of electric New York taxis had been introduced. Even though petrol cars were also available, electric cars were more popular at the beginning of the 20th century because they were much cleaner, quieter and easier to drive, outselling petrol cars 10:1. I read somewhere that Henry Ford’s wife, like most wealthy people of the time, drove electric. It was due to a strange quirk of fate that the electric starter motor replaced the difficult and sometimes dangerous hand crank start in petrol cars, at the same time as petrol stations made refuelling convenient. The oil and combustion engine companies were in control.

At the other end of the 20th century from 1996 to 1999 General Motors produced and leased the now infamous EV1 electric car. Instead of horses it was the California smog that had created the environmental problem. The California Air Resources Board (CARB) mandated for a small percentage of cars to be electric as the solution. GM believed that

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electric cars occupied an unprofitable niche of the automobile market however as they were ‘only able’ to lease 800 units in face of production costs of US$1 billion over four years. An alliance of the major automakers litigated the CARB regulation in court, resulting in a slackening of the Zero Emission Vehicle stipulation. The EV1 program was subsequently discontinued in 2002 and all cars on the road were repossessed. Lessees were not given the option to purchase their cars from GM, which cited parts, service, and liability regulations. The majority of the repossessed EV1s were crushed and the rest delivered to museums and educational institutes with their electric powertrains deactivated, under the agreement that the cars were not to be reactivated and driven on the road. I recommend all conspiracy fans watch the brilliant documentary ‘Who Killed The Electric Car? (you can rent the DVD) which is an account of the events of this period. I also recommend the 2012 sequel ‘Revenge of the Electric Car’, also directed by Chris Paine.

The G-Wiz is not the only purpose built EV available to buy in the last decade. Instead of a G-Wiz you could have purchased a Maranello (Italian), a Mega (French), a Venturi (also French), a Kewet (Norwegian), a Think (also Norwegian), a Microvett (Italian), an Elettrica (another Italian), a Tazzari (also Italian), a MyCar (Chinese), a ZAP (also Chinese), a GEM (US), a Tango (also US), a ZENN (Canadian) and several others. You had a choice of more than a dozen pioneering EV brands as they came and mostly went.

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Today, the second generation pure electric cars are on the market. You can order the brilliant but expensive Nissan Leaf, Mitsubishi imiev, Citroen C-Zero, Peugeot ion, Renault Twizy (interestingly, a quadricycle, like the G-Wiz) Tesla Roadster and soon EVs from Mahindra Reva (NXR), smart (ED), Renault (Z.E. Fluence, Kangoo and Zoe), Peugeot VELV, Ford (Focus electric), Chevrolet (Spark EV), VW (E up!), BMW (i3), Audi (e Tron), Toyota (iQ electric), Kia and plug-in vehicles from most of the other global brands will soon be available, together with the growing charging infrastructure networks featuring charging stations in the tens of thousands.

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2.The truth about electric vehicles

The emissions debate

Many people point out that an electric car is not emission free because emissions are generated at the power station. This is quite true. A more accurate description is emission free at the tailpipe. In the UK, the average electric car emits approximately 60g CO2 /km, based on the UK’s daytime primary fuel mix, taking into account the power station emissions. The figure is even lower – around 50g - when charging at night. This compares with the cleanest (UK) hybrids and “clean” diesel and petrol cars at around 99g CO2 / km and the average (UK) car at 145g CO2 tailpipe only, figures which exclude emissions generated at the refineries to give a direct comparison, which would add at least an additional 20g on to the figure for conventional cars. So, in the UK, I would say that today an EV emits around two thirds less emissions than the average conventional car.

Not only are EVs cleaner than petrol and diesel vehicles, as the percentage of electricity generated from renewable energy sources such as wind, tidal and solar increases, so electric vehicles will become cleaner still. This is in contrast to the carbon content of oil and diesel, which will increase as oil excavation becomes more energy intensive. Countries such as

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Iceland and Norway, which already have all or most of their electricity from renewable sources are making their contribution to climate change with the introduction in 2012 of truly emission free electric vehicles from the global car marques.

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3. Why we need electric vehicles

In 2004 there were roughly 600 million vehicles on the world’s roads. In 2010 there were one billion, a two thirds increase in just seven years, a figure rising so fast it is expected that this number will increase to two billion vehicles sometime between 2020 and 2030. This rapid growth in miles driven due to more petrol and diesel cars on the road globally represents the biggest environmental threat to mankind.

Cars, like smoking, are bad for our health. Diesel, the choice of the majority of UK vehicle owners thanks to successive government taxation policies (20% lower greenhouse gas emissions compared to petrol), is clogging up the air with NOx and other particulates, tiny and invisible droplets that react with sunlight to cause ozone and are linked to respiratory diseases. The UK has the highest incidence of asthma in Europe, surely no coincidence, whilst transport emissions account for half of all London’s smog forming pollutants. Ten times more people die and are hospitalized in cities each year as a result of pollution than as a result of car accidents. London has some of the worst air in Europe. Pollution on our congested city roads is so bad, a report from King’s College London concluded that standing on the Kings Road in Chelsea on a summer’s day can be as bad for you as smoking one and a half packets of cigarettes. Under EU regulations, the UK is allowed 35 days per year when particulates exceed 50 mg/m3

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and by April 23 2011 it had already passed this annual allowance.

But it’s not just a city pollution problem. The average car puts between two and four tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere each year. According to Professor Julia King, author of the 2008 King Review of Low Carbon Cars for the last Labour government, cars and other vehicles account for 14% of global CO2 emissions, the leading cause of climate change. In the UK, transport accounts for 26% of emissions, in the US the figure is 33%. Worse, they are the fastest growing source of emissions, because of the popularity of the car and the rise in the number of people that can afford one, particularly in the ‘emerging’ BRIC countries (Brazil, India, Russia and China). Chillingly, whilst over half of adults in the US and Europe own a car, that figure is less than one person in every 100 in China and India. By 2050, car ownership in China and India alone is predicted to pass 1 billion, compared to around 150 million cars in in the US today. Houston, we have a problem.

In March 2009 the world’s leading scientists issued what The Times newspaper called ‘a desperate plea to politicians’ to act on climate change before the planet becomes unrecognizable and in places impossible to live on. A statement to politicians said that there was ‘no excuse for inaction’ and that ‘weak and ineffective’ governments must stand up to big business and vested interests’. Like the global automotive industry perhaps, which together with the oil industry has been staggeringly successful at maintaining the vehicular status quo for the last 100 years; and more recently at resisting repeated calls

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for a legally binding radical reduction in emissions. It looks to me like the automotive industry is the problem, whilst marketing itself as the solution.

The effects of climate change are affecting just about everyone. In the UK we are seeing extremes of temperatures with hotter summers – a real problem for cities such as London, which do not cool down at nighttime – and wetter, colder, windier winters that disrupt travel and cause problems for the supply of food and other essentials such as fuel. I am writing this in April 2011 and today’s forecast is for 26 degrees centigrade in London. In April!

Scientific evidence from the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, www.ipcc.ch) suggests that globally we need a 50% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2050. Developed countries like the UK will need to reduce emissions by at least 80% by 2050. This is in order to achieve stabilisation of atmospheric CO2 concentration between 450 and 550 ppm, in order to have a realistic chance of avoiding the most damaging effects of climate change. As some sectors will be unable to meet the 80% targets, for developed countries this means we must achieve total decarbonisation of road transport by 2050. The total CO2 emissions per head in 2050 in the UK must be lower than the average new car emissions per head today. As I am writing this, the European Union has just announced a White Paper to legislate for this by removing all cars powered by petrol or diesel by this date.

But it’s not just a city pollution and a climate change problem. It is a massive energy, and therefore

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economic, problem. The oil used to power cars is located in distant places around the world that are not readily predisposed to our interests in the UK. Not only that, oil appears to have reached the halfway point, (commonly known as Peak Oil) where half or more of the oil available has been excavated. The UK, like many countries, is borrowing money from abroad to buy oil from abroad, an unsustainable situation. With rising demand for oil, a flat or declining supply, increasing financial, energy and environmental costs for extraction and uncertainty of supply, we may soon face the very real problem of not enough oil to go round.

Transport is 95% dependent on liquid hydrocarbon fuels derived from crude oil. The price at the petrol pump of one litre of diesel has nearly doubled from 78p per litre in 2002 to £1.48p in 2011. Put simply, if we do not have enough oil to fuel our vehicles, or we can no longer afford to do so, how do the millions who commute to work every day by car get there? Or kids to school? Or ambulances to accidents, police to crime scenes, food to supermarkets? And if we cannot get to work, or have sufficient fuel for heating and lighting, then how can we maintain a functioning society?

Whilst the downside of not addressing these issues is frightening, the upside is equally big. Electric vehicles can be a key to addressing climate change, energy and economic security and avoiding future wars and other hardships. EVs are at the core of a new electron economy. If we can transition rapidly from a predominantly oil and coal-based transport system to one powered by electrons, EVs

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can be charged using electricity from renewable energy sources such as wind, solar and tidal, and enable truly emission free mobility. EVs use just one third the energy of conventional cars, thereby reducing the burden on our finite energy sources. EVs also encourage the development of the smart grid, which may use EVs as power sources at times of peak energy demand, by drawing upon energy stored in their batteries. EVs are also beneficial because they will be charged mostly at night, when we have excess electricity available.

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4. The people behind the brand

As with most achievements, there were many people involved and every one of them contributed greatly. But a few people really drove the business forward, both here in the UK and at Reva in Bangalore.

The GoinGreen board Nick Hewson studied Law at Cambridge, became a qualified Chartered Accountant then made many millions as co-founder and ceo of Grantchester Holdings plc, a food superstore and retail warehouse development business named after a Pink Floyd song. Nick is now an angel investor with a portfolio of cleantech startups, a charity worker in the field of mental health and a Chelsea FC season ticket holder. He has been driving a G-Wiz most days day for nine years.

Steven Cain has a first class degree in chemical engineering from Imperial College, London and was the youngest CEO of a FTSE 100 company with Carlton Communications and a member of the World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leader program. Steven now lives in Australia and has primarily focused on leadership positions within media, retail and private equity.

My background is in communications agencies and startups. Prior to becoming managing director of GoinGreen I was founder and ceo of Mission

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Advertising in Hong Kong and then founder and ceo of what is now called Chemistry Communications Group plc in London, part of Publicis Group. I live with my wife Lucy in Hove, near Brighton on the south coast of England.

Reva Electric Car Company In May 2002, during a visit to Infosys in Bangalore on a Leaders’ Quest mission, the founders of GoinGreen met Chetan Maini, founder and chief technical officer of Reva Electric Car Company. Chetan is the youngest of three sons who, under the guidance of their father Dr Sudarshan Maini have built up the Maini Group of companies.

Chetan is an engineer and one of the true pioneers of EVs with 25 years experience developing solar, hybrid and electric vehicles. He has a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Michigan with a focus on solar electric vehicles and a master’s in mechanical engineering from Stanford University.

Back in 1990, together with some fellow students from the University of Michigan he built the Sunrunner, a solar powered car designed for the seven day, 3000 km long World Solar Challenge race across the Australian continent. Incredibly the Sunrunner finished third, beating the multi-million dollar entries from many of the global auto brands. Four years later in 1994, Frank Wisner, the then US Ambassador to India had suggested to Dr Maini that he name his company after his mother, a name that in Sanskrit aptly means ‘ a new begining’, and Reva Electric Car Company was formed. The Reva EV was a

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breakthrough in price: performance, using 80% fewer parts than a conventional car and costing less than half the price of a typical EV conversion. In 2009, following the success of GoinGreen with the Reva G-Wiz in the UK and its subsequent expansion into 20 markets, Chetan Maini was named by Business Week magazine as one of the top 50 most powerful people in India. A year later Mahindra & Mahindra, the US$7 billion Indian conglomerate acquired a majority stake and renamed the company Mahindra Reva Electric Vehicles. Now, as I write this book in October 2011 Chetan is in London to receive The Economist’s 2011 Innovation Award for Energy And The Environment. Together with product innovations such as Google mail and Amazon’s Kindle, the Reva G-Wiz has been formally recognised as the first affordable, mass produced electric vehicle.

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Final Thoughts

Thank you for reading this essay. I make no claims about my writing abilities, or to be unbiased in my thoughts and recollections. I hope I have been accurate, and apologise if I have not. I hope I have given an insight into the transition to electric vehicles and about what can be achieved when you harness the power of PR and digital communications - the two now being intertwined – to engage people with your story.

Rossana Tich and I found to our delight that they can be very effective indeed, so much so that we launched Fable + Co, a public relations agency. Sally Panter, also ex GoinGreen and now an experienced PR is part of the Fable + Co team and a Director of the company - sayhello@fableandco.com if you would like to get in touch.

Meanwhile I blog on electric vehicles at connEVted.co.uk and I am promoting electric vehicle recharging in a new role as Business Development Director at Elektromotive, the UK pioneer of the EV recharging industry (and global number 3, according to a report by Pike Research). If you have any thoughts about this story or more generally about EVs, contact me at keithjohnston@connEVted.co.uk.