Tim Benford, President of Dayton Ohio Electric Vehicle Association, Talks EV Adoption

Tim Benford, President of Dayton Ohio Electric Vehicle Association, was interviewed by Bill Pierce, Publisher, EVinfo.net. In this interview, Benford shares information about the Dayton Ohio EVA, as well as his own personal EV adoption story.

BP: Tell us a little about yourself and how you got into EVA.

TB: Reading Al Gore’s Inconvenient Truth led to interest in EVs. Visited Tesla Store in Cincinnati in 2015 and was very impressed. Heard about Tesla’s Model 3 and reserved one on March 31, 2016. Started Drive Electric Dayton (DED) Facebook page. This was found by the Clean Fuels Ohio staff and I was encouraged to start a chapter for EV enthusiasts. I held events and grew membership to the point that I was asked by the Electric Vehicle Association to make DED an EVA chapter (it was EAA in those days).

BP: When and why did you begin driving EVs?

TB: I test drove all available Teslas in 2017, picked up my Model 3 in April 2018, and have been driving it ever since.

BP: Which EVs have you owned? What have been your most favorite and least favorite features of them?

TB: Owned the Tesla Model 3 with full self driving and it’s the best vehicle I’ve ever owned. I have also test driven: Bolt, Taycan, e-tron, I-PACE, ID.4, MACH-E.

BP: How has the Dayton Ohio Electric Vehicle Association promoted EV adoption in the past?

TB: We hold public EV ride & drives, put EVs in parades, attend cruise-ins, attend local Cars & Coffee meets, give PowerPoint presentations to Rotary and Chambers of Commerce and put EVs in local Concours d’Elegance. We also attend Zoom calls with Montgomery County government staff members who are looking at fleet electrification, as well as talk to local elected officials and police chiefs about EV adoption.

BP: What plans does the Dayton Ohio Electric Auto Association have for promoting EV adoption in the future?

TB: More of the same, but always looking for new opportunities, especially for Drive Electric Earth Day and National Drive Electric Week.

BP: What are the biggest barriers to EV adoption in your opinion? How could these barriers be overcome?

TB: Lack of EVs available in Ohio to test drive and buy at dealerships and lack of knowledge about and interest of their staff to push them ahead of internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. OEMs would need to start shipping EVs and setting sales targets. I know plenty of folks who’ve had to fly to the east coast to pick up EVs that are not Teslas.

BP: What do you believe the government could do to promote EV adoption that they are not currently doing?

TB: The Biden administration has all the right plans ready, but the GOP (and Senator Kyrsten Sinema and Senator Joe Manchin) are dead set on opposing it all. Ditch the filibuster and make Build Back Better a law.

BP: Does Ohio have any special programs to promote EV adoption?

TB: Not yet although there is a draft bill in the system.

BP: How could middle class and lower income families be assisted in adopting EVs?

TB: Pass the BBB bill which includes rebates not just tax credits. The latter are no use to folks without a large tax bill.

Many thanks to Tim Benford for taking the time to speak with us. We greatly appreciate his efforts in EV adoption and his time. Check out our interview of Jim Stack of the Phoenix AZ EVA.