Inside The Gated Community
...Continued
The electric powered Arcimoto Fun
Utility Vehicle (FUV) is just coming to
market
tions for venturing outside of com-
munities on public roads. [While] at
the same time, this vehicle can be
speed limited for golf course and
planned community use.”
Marc goes on to indicate the pros
and cons of these vehicles:
Pros
With the ability to travel from golf
course to community roads to
public roads, the three-wheeled
vehicle offers greater versatili-
ty than PTVs. Capable of higher
speeds, it also has greater func-
tionality than PTVs for certain use
scenarios. For autonomous vehi-
cles, the low-speed, well-defined
and relatively limited planned
community road networks offer an
ideal environment. For residents
less inclined or capable of driving
a PTV, they provide a method to
maintain mobility.
Cons
The FUV is currently much more
30
WWW.GOLFCAROPTIONS.COM
expensive than PTVs and even
LSVs. Therefore, customers may
not find the increased versatil-
ity and functionality worth the
price. They also are limited to two
passengers, and as a result are less
useful for family outings. For au-
tonomous vehicles the technology
is still in the development phase.
In addition, some customers may
prefer the convenience, customi-
zation and the statement made by
owning a PTV. Furthermore, the
cost of this type of service is not
currently known.
New Players, investment &
disruptive innovation: What you
PTV manufacturers faces in the
new market of suburban/urban
mobility
For PTVs we in the gated com-
munity are familiar with the Big
Three, Club Car, E-Z-GO, and
Yamaha, along with others that
have strong competitive products
(STAR, Tomberlin), but are facing
important choices going forward, if
they are going to be part of the new
mobility market. As Marc notes,
“An additional aspect of urban and
micro mobility that PTV manufac-
turers must contend with is the in-
creased number of market players,
capital investment and disruptive
product innovations that the tech-
nology brings. For example, Harley
Davidson and Jeep have revealed
at least prototype electric bikes.
Completely new companies like
Arcimoto have entered the mar-
ket. Tech companies like Alphabet
(Google) and traditional auto man-
ufacturers are developing highly
sophisticated autonomous vehicle
technology. In addition, you have
ride share companies.”
Start-ups like Rad Power Bikes
energize the market
Rad Power Bikes, is an example of
the type of start-up in the urban
mobility space that is energizing
the market. The company produc-
es a wide range of e bikes suited
for personal transportation and
as commercial delivery vehicles.
EWheels is another startup spe-
cializing in a wide range of electric
scooter, as well as e bikes. The
company focuses on three-wheeled
and four-wheeled scooters. Space
does not permit more details on
these kinds of manufacturers, but a
future column will do so.
Marc points out some of the issues
and some of the strengths the Big
Three might have in this market:
“PTV manufacturers are potential-
ly at a disadvantage because they
have neither the focus of disrup-
tive startups nor the financial
resources of much larger compa-
nies. On the other hand, they do
possess strong knowledge of the
market and a distribution network
to serve the market. They also
have experience in developing and
manufacturing electric vehicles in
a highly competitive environment.”
Small Vehicle Resource will be
vetting this market and its poten-
tial more and more during 2020,
so stay tuned. Your comments and
perspectives are welcomed.