Finding
The US electric LSV and golf cart market is now a protected home market for Club Car and Textron's E-Z-GO: their trade case put stacked duties of about 150% to more than 500% on Chinese-built carts, and Chinese makers are answering by assembling in Texas
Club Car and Textron Specialized Vehicles, both of Augusta, Georgia, petitioned in June 2024 as the American Personal Transportation Vehicle Manufacturers Coalition. Commerce issued final determinations in June 2025, the US International Trade Commission found injury in July 2025, and anti-dumping and countervailing duty orders took effect in August 2025. Imports from China in 2023 were 114,170 vehicles worth about $450 million.
The case covers golf carts, personal transportation vehicles, LSVs and light utility vehicles from China. Final anti-dumping cash deposits are 119% for Guangdong Lvtong, 312% for Xiamen Dalle, 291% for other cooperating exporters and 478% for the China-wide entity; subsidy duties of 31-44% stack on top, and two companies that did not cooperate were assigned 679%. Lvtong and Dalle build many of the carts sold under US brand names, which is why a buyer sees the case as a price jump on Evolution, ICON or Denago carts rather than on a Chinese badge. The orders run at least five years, with annual reviews that can move the rates.
Chinese makers are moving assembly rather than leaving the market. Kandi Technologies started building electric golf carts at a 74,758 sq ft plant in Garland, Texas, in May 2025 and planned US battery-pack production, and Zhejiang Taotao opened a golf cart factory in Texas. China shipped about 279,000 golf carts and similar vehicles worth nearly $1 billion in 2024, 81% of them to the US, so the duty orders cut off China's main export market for the class.
The vehicles themselves are small-battery EVs. Federal standard FMVSS 500 defines an LSV as a four-wheeled vehicle under 3,000 lb gross with a top speed between 20 and 25 mph, fitted with lights, mirrors, a windshield, seat belts and a VIN; most states allow LSVs on roads posted 35 mph or less. GEM, owned by Waev since 2022, launched the eX utility LSV in October 2025 with an 8 kWh LFP pack, a claimed 137 km (85 mi) range and a $24,955 price. The shift that matters inside the class is lead-acid to lithium: E-Z-GO's ELiTE lithium line and Club Car's lithium packs cut weight and charging time, and lithium is now standard on most street-legal trims.
US LSVs
Street-legal LSVs and NEVs in the US
FMVSS 500 low-speed vehicles; in production first.
| Model | Type | Brand | Built in | Approved as | Battery kWh | Top km/h | Range | Seats | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carryall 710 LSV (Club Car) | utility | US | US | FMVSS 500 LSV | 40 | 2 | in production | ||
| Onward LSV (Club Car) | passenger | US | US | FMVSS 500 LSV | 40 | 4 | in production | ||
| Urban (Club Car) | utility | US | FMVSS 500 LSV | 40 | 2 | in production | |||
| Villager 2+2 LX LSV (Club Car) | passenger | US | US | FMVSS 500 LSV | 40 | 4 | in production | ||
| Rover XL (Denago EV) | passenger | US | China | FMVSS 500 LSV | 40 | 6 | in production | ||
| Liberty LSV (E-Z-GO (Textron)) | passenger | US | US | FMVSS 500 LSV | 40 | 4 | in production | ||
| Classic 4 Plus (Evolution Electric Vehicles) | passenger | US | China | FMVSS 500 LSV | 40 | 4 | in production | ||
| D5 Maverick (Evolution Electric Vehicles) | passenger | US | China | FMVSS 500 LSV | 40 | 4 | in production | ||
| e2 (GEM (Waev)) | passenger | US | FMVSS 500 LSV | 40 | 2 | in production | |||
| e4 (GEM (Waev)) | passenger | US | FMVSS 500 LSV | 40 | 4 | in production | |||
| e6 (GEM (Waev)) | passenger | US | FMVSS 500 LSV | 40 | 6 | in production | |||
| eL XD (GEM (Waev)) | utility | US | FMVSS 500 LSV | 40 | 2 | in production | |||
| eX (GEM (Waev)) | utility | US | FMVSS 500 LSV | 8 | 40 | Up to 137 km (85 mi), maker claim | 2 | in production | |
| i40 (ICON EV) | passenger | US | China | FMVSS 500 LSV | 40 | 4 | in production | ||
| eMoke (Moke America) | passenger | US | FMVSS 500 LSV | 40 | 4 | in production | |||
| ABLE NEV (Tropos Motors) | utility | US | FMVSS 500 LSV | 40 | 2 | in production | |||
| Beyond (Bintelli) | passenger | US | FMVSS 500 LSV | 40 | 4 | unconfirmed | |||
| Metro (Cenntro) | utility | US | FMVSS 500 LSV (US); EU L7e | 2 | unconfirmed |
Quadricycles
Quadricycles and microcars outside the US
The European and Japanese equivalents of the LSV, with higher speed caps.
| Model | Type | Brand | Built in | Approved as | Battery kWh | Top km/h | Range | Seats | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ami (Citroën) | passenger | France | Morocco | EU L6e light quadricycle | 5.5 | 45 | About 75 km (WMTC) | 2 | in production |
| Topolino (Fiat) | passenger | Italy | Morocco | EU L6e light quadricycle | 5.5 | 45 | About 75 km (WMTC) | 2 | in production |
| G4 (Goupil) | utility | France | France | EU L7e heavy quadricycle or N1, by version | 2 | in production | |||
| Microlino (Microlino) | passenger | Switzerland | Italy | EU L7e heavy quadricycle | 6-15 | 90 | Up to 230 km with the largest pack, maker claim | 2 | in production |
| Rocks Electric (Opel) | passenger | Germany | Morocco | EU L6e light quadricycle | 5.5 | 45 | About 75 km (WMTC) | 2 | in production |
| Duo (Mobilize (Renault)) | passenger | France | EU L6e light quadricycle or L7e, by version | 2 | unconfirmed | ||||
| Yoyo (XEV) | passenger | Italy | China | EU L7e heavy quadricycle | 10.3 | 80 | 2 | unconfirmed | |
| Twizy (Renault) | passenger | France | South Korea | EU L6e light quadricycle or L7e, by version | 6.1 | 80 | 2 | discontinued | |
| C+pod (Toyota) | passenger | Japan | Japan | Japan ultra-compact mobility | 9.06 | 60 | About 150 km (WLTC) | 2 | discontinued |
Rules
What each market allows a low-speed EV to do
Speed caps and road access decide the use case more than the hardware does.
| Market and class | Speed cap | Where it may drive | Who may drive | Typical vehicles |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US golf cart | Under 20 mph (32 km/h) | Private property and roads a state or town opens to carts | Set by state and local law | Club Car, E-Z-GO and Yamaha carts; Chinese-built carts |
| US LSV (NEV) | 20-25 mph (32-40 km/h) | Roads posted 35 mph or less in most states | Licensed driver; vehicle registered and insured | GEM, Club Car Onward LSV, E-Z-GO Liberty LSV, Moke, Tropos ABLE |
| EU L6e light quadricycle | 45 km/h | Public roads | AM license; from 14 in France | Citroën Ami, Fiat Topolino, Opel Rocks Electric |
| EU L7e heavy quadricycle | Up to 90 km/h | Public roads | B1 or B license, by country | Microlino, XEV Yoyo, Goupil utility models |
| Japan ultra-compact mobility | 60 km/h | Public roads, with limits set at approval | Regular license | Toyota C+pod (discontinued) |
| China low-speed four-wheelers | No national class | Set city by city; Beijing banned non-compliant ones from January 2024 | Often unlicensed in practice | Shandong-built micro EVs; legal demand moved to A00 cars such as the Wuling Hongguang Mini EV |
Trade case
The US duty orders on Chinese low-speed vehicles
Final determinations, June 2025; orders issued August 2025.
| Exporter | Anti-dumping cash deposit | Countervailing duty | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guangdong Lvtong New Energy Electric Vehicle Technology | 119.33% | 31.45% | About 151% |
| Xiamen Dalle New Energy Automobile | 312.31% | 44.38% | About 357% |
| Other cooperating exporters | 291.01% | 41.14% | About 332% |
| China-wide entity | 478.09% | 41.14% (all others) | About 519% |
| Hebei Machinery Import and Export; Shandong Odes Industry | 478.09% (China-wide) | 679.44% | Above 1,100% |
Sources
Sources and scope
- Scope
- Electric Low-Speed Vehicles
- Sources
- US International Trade Administration (final AD/CVD determinations, June 2025); USITC (July 2025); Wiley; Kandi Technologies (Garland plant, May 2025); Flanders-China (export figures); NHTSA FMVSS 500; EU Regulation 168/2013; Electrek (GEM eX, Oct 2025); China Daily (Beijing ban); maker specifications; Oct 2026
- Updated
- October 2026