Schenectady hosted one of the largest electric vehicle fairs in the Northeast on Sunday, bringing together EV owners and curious newcomers for test drives in a city that has called itself the Electric City for more than a century. Now in its 8th year, the fair gave attendees the chance to get behind the wheel of an electric vehicle and ask questions before making a purchase.
The event, as reported by News10 ABC, is part of a broader National Drive Electric Week series held nationwide. The Schenectady fair has previously claimed an outsized spot on that national stage: according to the City of Schenectady, the local event was ranked the largest National Drive Electric Week event in the entire country in both 2022 and 2023, based on participant electric vehicle counts and total electric miles registered among nearly 200 registered events across 48 states.
A Nickname Rooted in Industrial History
Schenectady's identity as the Electric City dates back to 1886, when Thomas Edison relocated Edison Machine Works to the municipality, a move that eventually led to General Electric establishing its global headquarters there in 1892. The city's industrial complex once employed as many as 45,000 workers, a legacy the city now points to as it pivots toward electrified transportation and clean energy education.
That civic identity earned fresh recognition in recent years. The city was named EV City of the Year for 2022 by the Electric Vehicle Association for its municipal EV adoption policies and public clean-energy education efforts, the city notes.
Local Manufacturer Powers the Charging Network
One of the fair's co-hosts, Lynkwell, formerly known as Livingston Energy Group, is involved in charging-infrastructure work. The company's presence ties the local fair directly to the region's homegrown green-tech industry.
The fair comes amid local investment in EV charging infrastructure.
State Mandates Loom Over Local Event
The fair unfolds against a backdrop of sweeping state climate policy. Under New York's Advanced Clean Cars II regulations, adopted in December 2022, 100% of new passenger cars, pickup trucks, and SUVs sold or leased in the state must be zero-emission vehicles by 2035, with escalating annual sales targets for manufacturers beginning in model year 2026.
To help ease that transition for consumers, New York's Drive Clean Rebate program offers point-of-sale discounts of up to $2,000 for purchasing or leasing a new electric vehicle across all 62 state counties, backed by $30 million in funding re-allocated in April 2025. The rebates are applied directly at participating dealerships at the time of purchase or lease, according to the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority.
Events like Schenectady's fair may do more than showcase vehicles. Research cited by the New York State Tourism Industry Association indicates that participating in a single EV test drive or ride-along makes a consumer three times more likely to consider buying an electric vehicle, suggesting the ride-and-drive format is designed specifically to lower adoption barriers and address range anxiety among would-be buyers.
The city's own government has also invested in its fleet and charging infrastructure.
