Electric vehicle company RTEV focusing on battery-powered ATVs

RTEV, the Ruff & Tuff Electric Vehicle company, is not the first to realize that a battery-powered ATV could be a good seller (we spoke with Electric Vehicle Systems about their ATEV last year). RTEV is now ready to expand into the electric recreational vehicles market with three models - the Cruiser, the 4-wheel drive Hunter, and the Workman - and has high hopes for more EVs down the road. RTEV's three current models are all Low Speed Vehicles, which means they're OK going 25 mph on roads designated with 35 mph speed limits. Ruff & Tuff sold about 1,000 vehicles last year and will introduce electric scooters and bicycles (branded with the Wheego name) later this year. 2009 should see car-shaped Ruff & Tuff NEVs hit the market and the company is talking about "full-size, full-speed electric vehicles" in 2010. Currently, RTEV vehicles use dry cell sealed (AGM) batteries that can move the vehicles about 70 miles between charges. Check out a video of the Hunter electric ATV in action and see more details on the currently-available LSVs after the break.

Chrysler must be happy to keep holding onto GEM

GEM vehicles certainly aren't flashy. They don't go more than 25 mph, they look kind of goofy, and they're stuffed with old-fashioned lead acid batteries. In fact, GEM vehicles embody the "golf cart aesthetic" more than any other NEVs that regularly make an appearance on our little blog here. Still, there's something worth noting about Global Electric Motorcars: it's the Chrysler brand/subsidiary that has growing sales. Automotive News (subs req'd) has a good story that takes a look at how Chrysler is benefiting due to keeping the GEM subsidiary following the Daimler-Chrysler split last year. GEM has sold 37,000 Neighborhood Electric Vehicles since getting started in 1998 and, while the company doesn't announce sales figures, the company is profitable. With Chrysler trying to gin up sales through gas price gimmicks, it's good to see that these zero-emission niche vehicles are going strong. The potential for Chrysler to move GEM from the NEV category into a company that builds vehicles that are capable of higher speeds exists, particularly through Chrysler's ENVI. A GEM Zeo, anyone?