Meet “Island NEV,” our Neighborhood Electric Vehicle. It’s small and super convenient, and with a top speed of 25 MPH, you can think of it as a street-legal, pickup truck-shaped golf cart!
It’s great for the vast majority of our trips, whether it’s taking the kids to school, grabbing groceries, picking up supplies at the nursery, or heading to the beach, all of which are just 1-5 miles (sometimes 10 miles! 😱) round trip. Fortunately for us, probably something like 95% of the roads in our town are just 25 MPH, with the remaining 5% just 35 MPH (which NEVs are allowed to use), so it’s perfect for all around town.
Our other car will now get used a lot less; pretty much only when we need to carry more than four people or when doing something out of town.
Low-Speed Vehicles (LSVs) and Neighborhood Electric Vehicles (NEVs)
“Low-Speed Vehicle” is a class of vehicles defined by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) which have a maximum speed between 20 and 25 MPH, and which weigh less than 3,000 lbs (among other things; see 49 CFR 571.500). Nearly all U.S. states allow LSVs to drive on roads with a speed limit of 35 MPH or less.
Yes, they’re street legal!
⛳ Most golf carts have a max speed of 19 MPH — below the LSV threshold — and are not an LSV nor street legal.
“Neighborhood Electric Vehicle” is a term frequently used for electric LSVs. While NEV is not an official term federally, many states and localities do use “NEV” in laws and regulations and other stuff.
For practical intents and purposes, “LSV” is synonymous to “NEV” for electric LSVs. From here on out, I’ll mostly use LSV, and when I use NEV it’s when there’s something specific about being electric.
Why consider an LSV?
Convenience & Versatility
There’s just something about a small vehicle that makes it seem easier to just take out for quick jaunts around town. For heading to the beach, we can just throw our stuff in the back and go. And although the truck bed isn’t huge, it’s still better and easier than our hatchback for throwing things like bikes or garden store purchases in the back.
Nearly all LSVs are smaller than regular cars so they can sometimes fit where regular cars might not, especially some of the even smaller LSVs that can fit perpendicular in parallel parking spots.
Many NEVs have solar panel options which could provide between about 20-30 miles per day (so they say), which could often mean not having to ever plug in the car during sunny months.
☝ A research study for the Bureau of Transportation Statistics found that about 80% of trips are under 10 miles, and 52% were less than three miles (just 2% of all trips were greater than 50 miles).
So, the modest 50 mile range of some NEVs is sufficient for 98% of trips distance-wise.
Cost
Because LSVs don’t go very fast and aren’t allowed on roads with a speed limit greater than 35 MPH, they don’t require all of the safety features that a regular car does, such as airbags and crumple zones. This makes them far simpler and can thus be much more affordable than regular cars.
Their short range also means that battery energy density isn’t as important, and many have lead-acid batteries (like the 12V battery used in nearly all cars) and LiFePo4 options, which are much less expensive than lithium-ion batteries (which most EVs use).
So, whereas the cheapest regular cars start at about $19,000, NEVs start at about $12,000.
🤔 You may see LSV-like cars sold for far less than $10,000 internationally. However, “upgrades” to make them street legal in the U.S. (such as compliant windshields, seatbelts, and lights & signals), and costs to ship & import bring the price up to at least $10,000.
Perhaps with enough adoption (economies of scale) and more domestic production, the price could reach as low as about $7,000.
Efficient & Eco-friendly
NEVs / Electric LSVs don’t directly emit greenhouse gas or pollution.
And because they’re small and lightweight (in part because they don’t need a lot of range and thus don’t need 1,000+ lbs of battery), they’re also efficient.
The lead-acid battery options are also less toxic, dangerous, and complicated to obtain the ingredients for (geo-political and humanitarian-wise) than lithium-ion batteries.
A brief look at a few currently available LSVs
| Make | Starting Price (and Model) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Gem | $ 12,500 (e2) without doors | Gem has a range of options from two to six passengers and are made in the U.S.. |
| Wink | $ 14,995 (Mark3) | Wink has a range of sedans (though currently almost nothing in stock). |
| Pickman | $ 16,999 (Classic) | All options are truck format (mostly pickups). |
| Moke | $ 25,475 (eMoke) without top | Doesn’t appear to have door (enclosed) options. |
| Club Car | $ 24,334 (CRU), no doors | Known for golf carts, Club Car has a few LSV (street legal) options. Might not have enclosed, street legal options. |
It’s possible that the Gem, Moke, and Club Car could qualify for the 30D Clean Vehicle Credit tax incentive, but it’s not clear whether they are a “qualified manufacturer” and that the dealers can/would/do the required paperwork.
Our Pickman Passenger NEV truck
We chose to go with a Pickman Passenger because:
- They have four-passenger options, so we can use it with our whole family.
- They’re enclosed (roof and doors), so we can use it when it’s raining and cold (largely taking Moke and Club Car out of the running).
- They’re on the less expensive side, especially since we wanted doors and a roof (which takes the Moke and Club Car out of the running, and which would make the Gem options more expensive than the Pickman options).
- They’re versatile. With the truck bed, there’s hardly anything we can’t do with it in town. It can even tow!
Our favorite thing about it has actually been all the reactions we get; the smiles, double- and triple-takes, and enthusiasm for it! 😁
Pickmans are built-to-order, so you get to build exactly what you want, but it will also take several months to fulfill. And because many DMVs might have little to no experience with LSVs, they may take more work to register.
☝ Stay tuned for an in-depth review our Pickman!
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