A Chinese low-speed vehicle.
A recent article discusses the surprising large size of the low-speed electric vehicle market in China. With over 200,000 LSVs produced there in 2013, it dwarfs the nearly 15,000 sold in the US. Some interesting characteristics of the market include, according to the article, a complete lack of regulation. Not surprisingly, hand in hand with this is a lack of safety features on the vehicles. On a more positive note, a host of component manufacturers and innovative low cost manufacturing processes have also cropped up to support this market and enabled many manufacturers to enter the fray.
A common design for a Chinese LSV is four doors with one seat in the front and two side-by-side in the back. The seating room would be considered small by Western standards. Chinese LSVs typically use lead-acid batteries and are powered by 1.5-kW to 4-kW DC motors with a top speed of around 38 miles per hour and costs range from $2,000 to $12,000. They are particularly popular in rural areas. Learn more: Green.autoblog.com
Comment: As the article points out, the small size of the US LSV market makes it a less appealing export market to Chinese manufacturers with so much opportunity at their doorstep. A friend of mine tried for several years to import a quality LSV from China that met the US safety standards and consumer requirements. He had a difficult time finding any company willing to spend the money to do the testing and meet the standards for a relatively small market opportunity. At the time, the quality of many of the vehicles he looked at was also not going to meet the needs of the US market.
Another difference in the markets is that the US market has become more of a commercial/institutional market. In the US, many of the consumer markets where LSVs would be useful are already served by golf cars and from what I’ve seen the trend among municipalities has been to allow golf cars on public streets rather than restrict them. This negates to a large degree the necessity of having purposely built LSV compliant vehicles. The commercial/institutional buyers however are looking for vehicles with those added safety features and official designation as an LSV.
In general, international markets offer greater potential for small electric vehicles than the US. From other developing countries in Asia to urban environments in Europe, from both a regulatory and market demand perspective, these markets are more conducive to creating a substantial market for these vehicles.