Fiat hopes golf-cart boom can drive electric adoption in the United States

Electric cars have struggled to win over U.S. buyers since President Donald Trump scrapped support for them. Fiat now sees a possible opening in golf-cart-like microvehicles, where electric power already dominates.

Pure electric vehicles accounted for less than 8% of U.S. car sales last year, even as the share of EVs increased in other major markets. Ford’s large F-Series pickups remained the country’s best-selling vehicles, driven by versions with large combustion engines rather than the electric F-150 Lightning.

Golf carts, however, have increasingly moved beyond golf courses. Sold under labels such as low-speed vehicle, or LSV, and neighborhood electric vehicle, or NEV, these small vehicles are finding a broader market. Established manufacturers such as Club Car now face competition from new entrants.

Fiat, the Stellantis-owned brand that has struggled in the United States, hopes a lower price will bring new customers. Its 500 Electric costs about $35,000, while the company expects to launch the Topolino microcar in the United States at roughly $15,000. The model is already sold in Europe, including Opel’s Rocks-e version.

The Topolino is less than 2.5 meters long and 139 centimeters wide, with a top speed of 45 kilometers per hour. Chip Motors is targeting the same price range with a vehicle it calls a life utility vehicle, or LUV, and aims to begin production in 2026. CEO Jameson Detweiler said demand already exists and that bringing an LSV to market requires far less capital than conventional car production. He expects the U.S. market, which currently sells fewer than 500,000 vehicles in this category annually, to grow significantly. Wall Street Journal figures put the market at $5 billion, up from about $1 billion before the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Demand already exists in the market, and it requires nowhere near as much capital to bring an LSV vehicle to market.