we just got 6 fleet carts in (Yamaha Drive2's)-all gas.
we can't hardly sell them.
3 local golf courses. They all mandate electric only carts. NO GAS carts are allowed on the course (at all).
......well.....we (dealer) can't get electric carts. In 2022 we got ONE, a lithium drive2. We typically sell 110-150 carts a year on average. Due to "supply chain issues" (Per yamaha rep), we, the highest volume dealer in the state, can't get but one electric cart and then the 3 golf courses won't allow gas carts.
So if you are living on the course or if you frequent any one of the three, you're either walking, or you're gonna have to go find you an electric cart somewhere, I'm hearing that they are nonexistent since the demand for them is high and the supply is nonexistent.
Of all of the carts I work on, about 200 a year on average, out of all of those about 175 are electric. Why? They wear out. The DC motors have brush style motors, and the brushes wear out. Have replaced a TON of controllers in the last year-that's the part that the entire electrical system is connected to, and that controller deciphers all of that electrical data and then controls the traction motor. AC units we don't put motors in (brushless) very often, the ones we do, the owners are using them for tractors or whatever and they just burn them up. I did one AC motor this year, that one the splines were just ripped out of the transmission coupler and of course it also damaged the motor's arm shaft. Rest were all DC units, LOTS of batteries since folks don't know how to take care of batteries. On that note, I've had to replace a couple of frames too. Some folks like to install a battery watering system on their flooded batteries, and that almost always overfills the batteries, they vent/leak and the leakage rusts the frames out. Some mfg have gone to aluminum frames and that helps but it doesn't solve it completely. BAttery acid is bad stuff. Ruins concrete too. Gives off hydrogen so you have to be mindful when charging (no smoking). Of all of the gas units I have worked on, most of them required very very little. Tires, oil changes, air filters. One or two I had to put brakes on. Several, have tens of thousands of miles on them with no major failures just lots of tires, bushings, etc.
On the polaris EV Rangers, I've been having to replace a few frames on those too-same reason. Overfilled, rusts the frame completely out. Not much you can do, you can't really cut the frame section out most of the time because there isn't anything but rust to weld to, and you can't weld to rust very well. They have Lithium units too and people often burn the motors up on them, which are pretty expensive (and a pain in the butt) to replace. 2 or 3 controllers. One caught fire, no reason why, while on the charger (lithium)-burned his EV and his shop. Insurance paid it. Maybe the charger failed? Maybe wiring issue? My coworker is a full time firefighter and inspector with the fire dept, he looked that particular EV over well looking for the source of the fire and it appears to have started at the charger, to him, but it was SO burnt up that his own inspection was inconclusive. But, Polaris is coming out with a new EV, which I've had the opportunity to play with a little (the ranger Kinetic). I really like it for it's purpose. I might buy one, dunno yet. Right now you can't get them again because of supply chain issues. They were supposed to be "released" this summer, but they sent out a bulletin pushing it back indefinitely. As I said before they wanna push Electric vehicles but they ain't got no idea how to implement the mass-production because of supply chain issues. The Americans CAN build controllers motors etc but they won't because if we have to pay an American company $5000 for a controller that we can get overseas for $300, that makes the cost of the vehicle rise, and people can't afford them already much less putting even more costs into it, making them unaffordable but for only the ultra-rich folks of which I are not. The costs are gonna have to come down and the supply of parts to make them is going to have to come online before people buy them.
