The New York International Auto Show opened its doors to the public over the weekend. And this year's buzz at the annual exhibition surrounds electric vehicles. CGTN's John Terrett reports from The Big Apple.

New York stages most of its big events here - the Jacob Javits Center on Manhattan's west side. The New York International Auto Show follows similar events in Detroit and Chicago, so what makes it special?

MARK SCHIENBERG, PRESIDENT NEW YORK AUTO SHOW "Springtime selling season is always a positive time for the auto industry. People get charged up, come out of winter time, ready to have consumers come in and take a look at new products."

The 2019 World Car Awards are being handed out - a competition to find the best of the best car on the planet judged by 86 jurors from 24 countries. "It's the Jaguar I-Pace." The I-Pace is an electric vehicle or EV - one of 40 on display in New York this year.

IAN CALLUM, DESIGN DIRECTOR JAGUAR "I'm a great believer in electric vehicles, you know, and I'm a Petrol-head."

The man who heads the team that designed the I-Pace - is still a lover of the combustion engine - he pulled back the curtain on the design process of this new all-electric baby.

IAN CALLUM, DESIGN DIRECTOR JAGUAR "We actually start off sketching pencil and paper that's how we start, and we come up with the ideas but of course there are many inputs all the time as you're creating this vehicle."

Last year, Americans bought more trucks than the entire world bought electric vehicles. It seems car buyers are still not quite sure about EVs.

JOHN TERRETT NEW YORK "The auto industry is well aware that people love the idea of saving the planet with electric vehicles - no emissions - but they're also concerned about what would happen if they ran out of charge. Well this e-tron from Audi shows us the range of the vehicle - here we are in New York - the blue line tells us how far we can go on one charge, in this case almost to Washington."

Filip Brabec has been with the German car maker Audi for over 20 years. He says the firm's launching TV and online ads to push back some of the worries people have about their ride being powered only by electricity.

FILIP BRABEC, VP PRODUCT MANAGEMENT AUDI OF AMERICA "There's a lot of misperceptions out there. There's a misconception certainly about range. The thing you have to change in your mindset is you're leaving with a full battery each and every day. It's like leaving with a full tank every day - your house - because you're charging at your home of course." 

It's unlikely Ford will have make an electric version of the Mustang. That's not to say they won't, but it is one of the best-selling sports cars of all time - 32-hundred were sold in China last year and it's 55 years old this week launched in New York at the World's Fair in 1964. In front of a Mustang in new Twister Orange colors, Ford's Jim Owens told me what people love about it - apart from 0-96 kilometers per hour in three seconds!

JIM OWENS MUSTANG AND SHELBY MARKETING MANAGER "It's Americana personified, and it if you think about it, we have Mustang clubs on six of the seven continents and that love and affection is based on it's not just a car, it's part of your family."

And family is very much what this show is all about. For 10 days, car fans will be in here lapping it all up, some just for fun, others planning their next purchase.

JOHN TERRETT NEW YORK "Of course, most of the exhibits at the New York International Auto Show are static. If you feel the need for speed, you've got to come on a machine like this and I'm driving very badly, the show runs through April 28th. I need to concentrate. John Terrett, CGTN, New York."