“It’s time to go electric,” says leading Sydney car dealer

An advertisement plastered on the front page of Sydney’s Manly Daily newspaper this weekend has sent a charged message to drivers on Sydney’s Northern Beaches, and a signal to the whole country: the age of electric mobility has arrived, and there’s no going back.

Established for 50 years and one of Australia’s largest independent car dealer franchises, Col Crawford Motors has set up a specialised area at its Brookvale showroom where it will showcase what it believes is the widest selection of all-electric and hybrid cars at any given location in Australia.

To celebrate the push into electric mobility, Col Crawford Motors – located in the heart of Tony Abbott’s Warringah electorate – is hosting an open day this Friday at its Brookvale showroom and welcomes drivers to register their interest to attend.

Attending the do will be Northern Beaches mayor Michael Regan as well as MPs Jason Falinski and Brad Hazzard, who Crawford says are supportive of the move to zero emissions transport.

Overseen by Stephen Crawford (son of founder Col Crawford), the dealership has installed three EV chargers and is stocking electric and hybrid cars made by Hyundai, BMW and Renault. The Nissan Leaf might also have been included, but for Crawford losing the dealership rights to Nissans last year.

Still, the switch to electric is a sign that times are changing, and fast. As Stephen Crawford tells the Driven, he considered starting the push to go electric 18 months ago but decided then that it was too soon.

Read the full story on RenewEconomy’s electric vehicle-dedicated site, The Driven…