2016 PGA Show: Torq Off-Road Electric Vehicles Showcases Suppressor VLE Electric Side-by-Side

Posted on February 8, 2016 by Marc Cesare

The spartan and aggressive looking Torq Suppressor VLE utility vehicle features a low-slung design, which results in a low center of gravity.

A frontal view of the Torq Suppressor VLE with seating for two.

A frontal view of the Torq Suppressor VLE Side X Side with racing-style four-point harnesses and seating for two.

A view of the vehicles quick-release steering wheel and instrument panel.

A view of the vehicle’s instrument panel and quick-release steering wheel.

The Torq Suppressor VLE’s AC powertrain.

Torq Off-Road Electric Vehicles used the 2016 PGA Show to showcase their Suppressor VLE Side X Side, an electric powered hunting and recreational vehicle. The company also has a single seat version, the Solo. VLE stands for Very Light Electric, and the models have a curb weight of about 1,020 lbs. Both models are powered by a 48-volt AC brushless powertrain with a 450 amp Curtis controller which produces 18 hp and a top speed of 25 mph. The battery pack consists of eight Crown 6-volt AGM batteries with an estimated run time of 3 to 3.5 hours. Other features include:

12.49:1 Team Industries Slip Disc Differential
Width of only 58.5″
10″ of ground clearance
PRP suspenison
Dual A-Arm front suspension with coil over, multi-position, pre-load adjusted shocks
A-Arm rear suspension with coil over shocks
All-wheel disc brakes
25″ tires
Four-point racing-style harness
Quick-release steering wheel
MSRPL Suppressor VLE Side X Side – $15,500; Suppressor VLE Solo – $14,500;

While hunting is a key application for the Torq vehicles, it is certainly not the only one as the company is also marketing the vehicle as a recreational vehicle as well. Compared to other electric hunting vehicles, Torq’s design and look will likely have more appeal to off-road recreational riders. This dual application design is also a good idea from a marketing standpoint. Research SVR has done in the market indicates that the electric hunting vehicle market is limited to only certain areas of the country where geography and the type of hunting lend itself to the use and expense of a dedicated hunting vehicle. The design of the Torq models should appeal to a wider potential market, although versions with a higher top speed would probably broaden the appeal in the recreational market. The company has started to build out their dealer network.

2016 PGA Show: E-Z-GO Introduces New Refresher and Updated RXV

Posted on February 5, 2016 by Marc Cesare

The updated E-Z-GO RXV includes a redesigned front with integrated bumper.

The two main products E-Z-GO showcased at the PGA Show is their RXV with an updated design and a new refresher vehicle. The RXV update involves style and comfort features rather than the underlying structure and driving performance of the vehicle. Key changes include a redesigned front with integrated bumper, more ergonomic seats, a larger dash with deeper cupholders and two USB ports and what E-Z-GO claims is the largest bagwell in the industry. The redesign is intended to improve golfers on-course experience. The RXV is available with an electric AC drivetrain or a 13.5 hp gas engine. Both models provide rack-and-pinion steering and independent front suspension.

More ergonomic seats were added to the RXV as part of the update.

The RXV’s larger dash includes USB ports and deeper cupholders.

The RXV’s bagwell is now the largest in the industry according to E-Z-GO.

For the third year in a row E-Z-GO has added to their refresher product line. This year’s model, the Cushman Refresher Oasis, features four beverage compartments which can fit up to 500 cans, a 12.1 square-foot wrap-around counter and a 6.7 cubic-foot dry goods cabinet. Optional airpots are available for serving morning or afternoon beverages. While previous refreshers, the F2 and F4, focused on modularity and flexibility the Oasis is focused on providing volume. A key target market is golf courses with higher volume which can use the Oasis to reduce their need to return from the course to replenish their food and beverage supply during the course of the day.

The new Cushman Refresher Oasis.

Some of the 500-can storage capacity under the wrap-around counter.

The merchandise/dry goods cabinet with adjustable shelves to facilitate a flexible approach to point-of-sale efforts.

Other features of the Oasis include:

13.5 hp, 401 cc, single cylinder, air-cooled Kawasaki gas engine
CVT transmission
Dual rear drum brakes
5000 Series Aluminum, Super Durable TGIC Polyester Powder Coating
3.4 cubic foot trash bin
11 mph top speed
Powder coated steel frame and steel rear body

2016 PGA Show: Garia Showcases Models for the US Market

Posted on February 4, 2016 by Marc Cesare

Luxury golf car manufacturer Garia showcased three vehicles at the PGA Show that will be a focus of marketing efforts this year in the US including a golf car, utility vehicle and a people mover.

Garia’s utility vehicle now available in the US.

Garia’s utility vehicle is already in production and ready for the US market, after being a great success in the Europe according to Garia representatives. What is somewhat surprising, given the price differential between their golf cars and typical golf cars, is the relatively low price of approximately $15,000 for the base utility model compared to what is currently on the market.The base model comes with a cab but no doors, no bed sides and no powerlift. The floor model on display included all of these plus a small Webasto diesel powered heater and is priced around $18,000.

The doors feature a sliding window and a unique latching system that can hold the door open flat against the vehicle.

The Garia Utility's dash features a storage area, cupholders and a knobs for adjusting side mirrors.

The Garia Utility’s dash features a storage area, cupholders and inside knobs for adjusting side mirrors.

The underseat battery pack features a single-point watering system.

Adjustable seats in the Garia Utility.

An overhead stereo system with bluetooth connectivity is available for this model.

The utility vehicle features a 48-volt system with a 3Kw AC motor powered by six Trojan T875 batteries. A lithium battery option is available for a $5,000 premium. The vehicle features a galvanized steel frame, front disc and rear drum brakes, a 350 amp Curtis controller and a 620 kg. payload capacity. While the Garia Utility will still be more expensive than similar models on the market, management believes the quality, durability and ride of the vehicle compared to the extra cost will win over customers looking at the long-term ownership experience.

The Garia Golf Car.

Another vehicle being showcased is the Garia Golf Car which will be ready for the US market in March of this year. Some final changes are being made to the roof design which is now wider. The model is also designed so dealers can easily convert the vehicle from a two seater to a four seater. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the Garia Golf Car is the marketing approach being used in the US. While priced too expensively to be a replacement for existing fleet golf cars, this model is being pitched as a fleet add-on where a course would purchase three or four for their fleet and charge extra for a luxury experience. According to Garia management some 15-20 resorts have already taken this route. This seems to be a really smart approach by Garia. Not only does it open up part of a market in which they would have a hard time competing through a traditional approach, but it is a market in which they likely will have limited competition. A course offering a select number of luxury golf cars will have a harder time selling that concept with a Club Car, E-Z-GO or Yamaha with extra bling compared to a Garia which from it’s inception has been designed and marketed to be a luxury golf car.

The new six-seater people mover from Garia.

Garia was also showcasing a six seat people mover that will be ready in June. A large order for custom vehicles for a collection of resort hotels in the Middle East gave rise to this model. While the custom version uses an aluminum chassis, the cost is prohibitive for the stock version, given the amount of aluminum needed to provide the needed stiffness for the long wheelbase. Instead a steel chassis will be used. Other changes to the floor

The six seater from Garia features a lot of legroom for occupants in the first and second rows.

The aluminum footrest for second row passengers is visible with the front seat raised.

The back two seats will be slightly narrower in the stock version to accommodate roof supports.

model pictured here is a roof and slightly narrower rear-facing seats. The base cost is expected to be approximately $16,200.

2016 PGA Show: Flow-Rite Battery Steward

Posted on February 1, 2016 by Marc Cesare

Continuing the focus on battery maintenance at the PGA Show, the Flow-Rite booth featured their Battery Steward product, which combines a mobile app with scannable labels to help operators manage battery maintenance. While Flow-Rite has been using the technology in the industrial space where the batteries for forklifts are very expensive and so can be the maintenance mistakes, they are just starting to introduce the technology to the golf car market.

A partial screenshot from Flow-Rite’s Battery Steward app.

The company’s website describes four easy steps for using the Battery Steward.

Use your mobile device and identifying labels to create easy-to-follow battery care task lists.
Check off batteries by scanning the Battery Steward identifying label that has been attached to your battery.
Record and analyze important battery maintenance data through the online portal.
Identify neglected, misused, or abused batteries.

The company generates revenue by selling the scannable labels. While the product is clearly aimed at the fleet owner, I wonder if a dealer might be able to use the technology to manage a “fleet” of disparate customer vehicles. Learn more: Batterysteward.com

2016 PGA Show: Battery Watering Technologies i-Lite Sensor

Posted on February 1, 2016 by Marc Cesare

Last week I attended the PGA Show down in Orlando, FL, so this week I’ll be posting about some brand new and relatively new developments from the show that relate to the small, task-oriented vehicle markets. I’m going to kick it off with a relatively new product from Battery Watering Technologies, their i-Lite Sensor. The i-Lite Sensor uses an LED light to provide a visual indication when it is time to water the batteries. According to company, if the indication is ignored, the sensor is so smart, it can tell the operator how long the battery went without water.

The LED indicator and wiring is shown sitting on top of the battery. The indicator can be wired into the dash or other area of the vehicle for easy viewing. Green means the electrolyte level is sufficient and red indicates water is needed.

A battery from US Battery using the i-Lite Sensor showing the black valve that is inserted into the battery and connected to the watering system.

Currently, the product is only available for US Battery products but the company is developing a variant for other brands as well. Some variance with the height of the lead plates in Trojan batteries is an issue. Although, the product may work with some of the Trojan batteries, they cannot guaranty that it will work with all.

The sensor takes a reading from one cell and uses it as a proxy for the whole battery bank. According to US Battery, this method has been effective in the industrial battery market for forklifts. This approach assumes all the batteries in the pack are the same brand and type and were installed at the same time as a complete set.

The sensor is trying to address an ongoing problem with electric STOV vehicles – getting owners and operators to properly take care of their batteries. I consistently hear from dealers, battery manufacturers and watering technology companies that owners/operators are not properly taking care of batteries. This leads to a shortened battery life, an expensive consequence which makes customers angry, can reflect poorly on the battery brand and probably doesn’t endear the dealer to the customer. What is fascinating is how this problem persists despite decades of golf cars using essentially the same battery technology. The i-Lite sensor and single-point watering systems are both steps in the evolution of simplifying the whole process of battery maintenance. In effect they are an attempt to put a layer of user-friendly technology between the operator and the battery pack to improve battery performance.

LEO Motors Introduces Electric Vehicles with “Swappable” Batteries

Posted on December 3, 2015 by Marc Cesare

Newly launched electric vehicle from LEO Motors.

Leo Motors of South Korea, launched a line of electric vehicles with “swappable” batteries. The vehicles include an electric cargo one-seater car, a delivery truck and a garbage truck. The company also introduced two electric fishing boats.

A key differentiator for the vehicles is that customers rent charged batteries from the company’s Battery Swap Centers, thereby reducing their costs. The vehicle lineup includes:

E-Dot, a 100% electric cargo one-seater with a cargo space of 7 cubic feet. Its maximum weight capacity is 220 pounds and the cargo space can be replaced with a second passenger seat.
LC-1 – a light delivery truck with low decks and wide ramps for easy loading, and a maximum carrying capacity of 1,100 pounds.
LC-2 – Similar to an LC-1 but with an 1,100 pound capacity garbage collection container.

Batteries at Leo’s battery swap stations are owned by the station operators and rented to the electric vehicle owners. This not only significantly reduces the price of the vehicle but also eliminates concerns about battery life span. Leo’s battery swapping machines are carts which replace battery cartridges eliminating the need for expensive large robot arms to handle massive battery packs. Using this shopping cart sized device, a typical 20 cartridge replacement takes 5 minutes. Learn more: Baystreet.ca

Comment: It will be interesting to see if the rental battery concept will work. Advanced batteries, such as lithium ion, can be very expensive, especially for LSVs and lower priced utility vehicles where the cost of the lithium batteries compared to the overall cost of the vehicle is very high. A battery rental approach could lower the up front costs of the battery pack.

NHTSA Delays Rules for Electric Vehicle Audio Alerts

Posted on December 2, 2015 by Marc Cesare

LSVs like the 2016 GEM e2 may need audio alerts in the future to improve pedestrian safety, but the rules have yet to be finalized by NHTSA.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is delaying rules that would require hybrid and electric vehicles to emit sounds during low speed operation to alert blind, visually-impaired and other pedestrians of their “presence, direction, location and operation”. The rules would apply low speed vehicles (LSVs), as well as highway-capable vehicles. Originally, the rules were supposed to be finalized by January 2014 with compliance by manufacturers by September 2018, but the finalization date was pushed back to November, 2015, and now to March, 2016. The chances of hybrid vehicles being involved in pedestrian accidents are 19 percent higher than traditional gas-powered cars, according to the NHTSA. NHTSA expects that the rules, if implemented, would prevent 2,800 fewer pedestrian and bicyclist injuries annually.

Learn more: Marketbusinessnews.com

Comment: Market forces could drive adoption of this safety feature by LSV manufacturers faster than regulators. Commercial sales continue to be a growth market for LSVs, and one reason is their safety features. LSVs are a popular vehicle choice in pedestrian heavy environments such as college and corporate campuses, where such a safety feature could be of benefit. Another interesting question is how these regulations will influence vehicles in places like gated communities where many consumers opt for golf cars, which have fewer safety features than LSVs. These communities, which typically have an older population, could potentially benefit from this safety feature as well.

GEM Director John Stockman Talks About the New Model Year

Posted on November 17, 2015 by Marc Cesare

The new GEMs for model year 2016.

I recently interviewed GEM Director John Stockman about the changes to the GEM lineup for model year 2016, the vision for the brand and how it fits within the overall small vehicle portfolio of Polaris. Here is an excerpt from the larger article posted in our Buying Guide section:

Polaris has made extensive changes to the GEM lineup for the 2016 e2, e4, e6 and eL XD models. Stylistically the iconic “bubble” design is still noticeable from a side view, but a frontal view reveals significant changes. The new design was in large part based on customer research. According to Stockman, in the neighborhood of 10 different designs were vetted by customers and consumers before a final design was chosen.

Even more important than stylistic changes, were the engineering changes made under the skin in direct response to several phases of customer research, including multiple ride clinics with dozens of customers and consumers, feature and finish related research, as well as feedback from dealers. The research focused the product development process on a number of key areas. One was the comfort of users as they ingress and egress from the vehicles all throughout their day. Towards that end, more legroom and headroom has been created. A past complaint about hot seats was also addressed as well as items as minor as having self-canceling turn signals.

A second issue highlighted by the research was vehicle safety. Stockman states that, “We are hearing more and more from corporate campuses, colleges and universities, hotel and resorts, that they are moving away from the traditional golf carts towards LSVs because of their safety features.” With that in mind the safety features the GEM is known for were kept but also improved. This included better brakes, vehicle handling in evasive situations and seatbelts. “We really focused on making sure that this was the safest LSV you could get”, remarked Stockman.

Another focus… View Full Article

I will be following up this article with some impressions from GEM dealers on the changes for the 2016 model lineup. For detailed vehicle specifications for the 2016 and past GEMs, search the SVR vehicle database.

Bureau of Reclamation Goes Green with e-Ride Industries

Posted on November 16, 2015 by Marc Cesare

The e-ride Industries EXV4 for people transport.

An e-Ride Industries EXV2 Patriot configured with a sliding cargo tray and roof rack.

An e-Ride Industries EXV2 Patriot at Grand Coulee Dam configured with a sliding cargo tray and roof rack.

The Bureau of Reclamation has purchased a fleet of 27 electric vehicles from e-Ride Industries of Princeton, MN for the Grand Coulee Dam Project in Washington state. With the addition of 130 new employees over the last two years, the management required more vehicles but also need to meet the federal government’s greenhouse gas emission goals. The electric powered, zero-emission LSVs from e-Ride Industries fit their needs.

e-Ride Industries has already supplied 16 of the 27 vehicles under a total contract for $900,000. The vehicles will be a mixture of the EXV2 Patriot designed for maintenance and utility duties and the EXV4 which can transport up to four people. Both vehicles are ruggedly built for industrial applications, have a top speed of 25 mph and are powered by 72-volt lithium-ion battery packs. The utility version features an enclosed cargo area, 1,000 lb. cargo capacity, built-in toolbox on the outside of the cargo area and a roof rack.

Management expects the fleet of vehicles which will be powered by renewable energy produced by the dam to save 10%-15% in fossil fuel costs, which currently run $111,000 annually. They also expect to save money on vehicle maintenance, and reduce pollution as well. Maintenance on the vehicles requires no disposal of hazardous materials such as used oil, antifreeze, or other liquids associated with gas-powered vehicles. The vehicles are made in America. Learn more: Grandcoulee.com

Comment: Federal and state vehicle fleet mandates continue to be a factor in the electric vehicle market, and the LSV market in particular. While the growing array of options of highway speed electric vehicles may cut into LSV sales moving forward, LSVs will continue to be a viable option for government agencies that need to meet greenhouse gas and emission standards. In particular, applications where utility vehicle versatility and functionality is needed and/or where vehicle travel is in a limited area and at lower speeds, LSVs will remain a cost-effective choice.

Polaris Introduces All-New GEM Lineup For 2016

Posted on October 30, 2015 by Marc Cesare

The all new 2016 GEM e2.

The 2016 GEM e2 with an enclosed cargo box.

The 2016 GEM eL XD with an enclosed rear cargo area.

Polaris Industries has announced an all new GEM lineup of vehicles for model year 2016. According to John Stockman, GEM director at Polaris. “The all-new GEM takes what our customers already love about these vehicles and improves the ergonomics, ride and range. We’ve also added more comfort and safety features to provide an even better experience for both rider and driver, with the added benefit of just $.03 per mile cost of ownership.” Some of key features for the all new GEM include:

Aluminum chassis that passes SAE roof-crush-test standards
Front-wheel disc brakes
Automotive style suspension
High-back forward-facing seats
3-point seat belts
Automotive glass windshield
LED signal lights
Optional RiderX app provides free access to road maps
Smart Power which matches the power to the task with the ability to choose the best combination of battery and charge options.
Optional Li-ion battery
The eL XD model offers a recessed bed option to lower loading height and maximize hauling capability, and a tailgate ramp.

There are seven models in the product line. There are three passenger vehicles, the e2, e4 and e6, as well as four utility vehicles, the eL XD, eM 1400, eM 1400 LSV and the Polaris M1400. The Polaris M1400 is a gas powered vehicle. Pricing starts at $8,999 for the GEM e2 and increases to $12,999 for the GEM eL XD. A range of factory installed options are available including but not limited to in-windshield defrost, electronic power steering, integrated doors and a full range of rear carrier options. Learn more: Polaris.com

Comment: I spoke with a GEM dealer who has some limited knowledge of the vehicles at this point and he gave me his first impressions:

The redesigned doors are the most significant improvement, addressing hardware problems, water intrusion, ease of entry/exit, line of sight issues and lack of availability for 6 passenger models.
The redesigned interior addresses driver comfort issues with more legroom and headroom.
The new AGM and Lithium ion battery options are a significant improvement and allow for better matching of batteries to vehicle application.
The additional options for the popular eL XD model will allow for more customization for the wide variety of uses for which customers currently use the vehicle.

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