The car of the future is an EV golf cart

July 21, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

“The average transaction price of a car in the US is sitting somewhere around $50,000,” says Verge transportation editor Andy Hawkins. “There are just no cheap cars available anymore.” That affordability crisis is driving a quiet but growing trend: Americans are increasingly buying vehicles that aren’t really cars at all. They’re buying souped-up golf carts.

On this episode of The Vergecast, host David Pierce and Hawkins explore the emergence of a new category of low-speed electric vehicles (LSEVs) that cap out at 25 miles per hour. These aren’t the flimsy carts you see on the green. Companies like Miami-based Chip Motors and Portugal’s Amble are building “micro cars” that look like a Jeep Wrangler hit by a shrink ray or a golf cart from Mad Max: Fury Road. The core argument is simple: most American driving is short, slow, and local — and the auto industry has stopped offering anything reasonable for those trips.

The regulatory loophole that makes them possible

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What you'll learn

1 (04:05) **The Chip Motors Pitch: Right-Sizing the American Car** - Andy introduces Chip Motors, a Miami startup building a 25-mph, golf-cart-like vehicle as a second car for short trips.
2 (06:55) **The Emerging Trend: Amble, Fiat Topolino, and the "Dumb Phone" Car** - Andy outlines the broader trend of micro-EVs from companies like Amble (Portugal) and Fiat, positioning them as simpler, safer alternatives.
3 (07:29) **Why Now? The Market Gap for Second Cars** - The trend is driven by the death of cheap sedans, soaring average car prices (~$50k), and a desire for affordable, simple secondary transportation.
4 (09:28) **The US Reality Check: Can Micro-EVs Go Mainstream?** - David and Andy discuss the uphill battle for these vehicles in a country dominated by big trucks and long distances.
5 (12:22) **The Regulatory Loophole: Two Pages vs. Hundreds** - The key enabler is the "low-speed vehicle" classification, which requires only basic safety features (lights, mirrors, seat belts) and exempts airbags, crumple zones, and advanced driver-assist systems.
6 (14:34) **Easier to Build? The Manufacturing Advantage** - These vehicles are much simpler to manufacture using contract manufacturers and off-the-shelf parts, though most companies are still too new to prove the model at scale.
7 (20:13) **Beyond Golf Carts: A Platform for Reinvention** - David speculates that this "deliberately slower, simpler" vehicle category could be a new platform for weird innovation, including self-driving features.

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Guests on this episode

Andy Hawkins David Pierce

Show Notes

So far, most electric vehicles have looked more or less like cars. But recently, a few companies have looked to another, smaller mode of transport for inspiration. The Verge's Andy Hawkins explains why companies like Amble and Chip are reinventing the golf cart, in the hopes of creating an entirely new kind of street-legal vehicle. As long as the speed limit stays low.