Our first NEV was a ZoneE back in 2010 and was a result of a 2009 Bush/Cheney exit plan to look green after destroying the US auto industry by feeding them ■■■■■■■■ about hydrogen future. They’d lowered the batter capacity to the point 6 lead acid batteries in a classic golf cart would qualify at a credit amount equal to the cost of the NEV which was $6,500 IIRC.
I’d seen it on TV and pulled the trigger on the last day possible and was the first in our area with a street legal electric golf cart. Three trips to the DMV at 3 hours each just to get it registered! In the process I also learned how States are able to tax vehicles via registration/etc fees. ie making vehicle owners Drivers for Hire by the State by giving up the bill of sale/ownership to the State in exchange for a State issued Title of Ownership.
Today there are many dozens of ‘golf carts’/NEVs in my area of town.
Interesting to look at that list of NEVs, I only recognize a few and only a couple (Club Cart & GEM) I think are still in business.
Remember though that the list was only street legal NEVs. The Zone Electric(ZoneE) was based on an Ez-Go setup but had lots of parts added to make it street legal and qualify for the tax credit.
I got a near free 2008 Tomberlin NEV in 2010. I called it my Obama car.
Free stuff to get re-elected.
“President George W. Bush first introduced the EV tax credit in 2008, with a cap of $3,400 per car, and limited the credit to the first 60,000 cars per manufacturer. In 2009, under President Barack Obama, the cap was raised to $7,500 per car and the credit was expanded to the first 200,000 cars per manufacturer.”