Kandi’s new collapsible electric golf cart is the latest tiny EV coming for your neighborhood
Golf carts aren’t just for golfers anymore. In fact, they’re getting much more use away from the golfing green as an alternative to cars in neighborhoods all over the US. Now Kandi America’s new collapsible mini golf cart is trying to reframe the concept of low-impact urban transportation.
Golf carts have wheeled their way out of the fairways, becoming the go-to chariot for zipping around local neighborhoods with a touch of whimsy and practicality. They embody the perfect blend of leisure and utility, offering an eco-friendlier alternative to gas-guzzling SUVs and even electric cars for short hops around town. Plus, there’s an undeniable charm in waving to familiar faces from the comfort of a golf cart, making every ride feel like a small parade through your neighborhood. Whether it’s the ease of parking, the breeze in your hair, or simply the joy of embracing a slower pace of life, golf carts have transformed local transportation into a delightful blend of fun, functionality, and community spirit.
But somehow in true American fashion, as golf carts have become more popular as transportation around neighborhoods, their size has also ballooned. These days, most local runabout golf carts you’ll find are likely to feature lifted chassis with big wheels and massive tires.
They’re a far cry from old-school ClubCars from a decade ago, and the trend toward bigger golf carts doesn’t seem to be waning anytime soon. Or at least that was until Kandi America’s new collapsible mini golf cart rolled onto the scene, showing that bigger might not always be better.
This tiny little golf cart features many of the same components you’ll find on a traditional cart, including front and rear seating, cup holders, independent double A-arm suspension (at least in the front), seat belts, and even a frunk for up-front storage.
But unlike larger golf carts, this pint-sized version is just a two-seater and comes in a much more compact form factor. Not only is it already physically smaller than typical carts, but it shrinks its wheelbase at the push of a button to take up even less space when parked. The little cart is just under 8 feet long when fully deployed for driving, but shrinks down to under 5.5 feet when collapsed. It’s also a mere 35 inches wide, or just under 3 feet. (For everyone else that uses a sensical unit of measure, that’s 89 cm wide and either 244 cm or 158 cm long when extended or collapsed).
It’s also significantly lighter than a typical golf cart, tipping the scales at just 265 lb (120 kg). That’s less than a third of the golf carts you see every day.
The little buggy doesn’t have a very powerful motor (between 1-5 kW depending on which spec sheet you read) or a very fast top speed (9 mph/ 14.5 km/h), but it has a decently long range of 25 miles (40 km). With a 1.8 kWh lithium-ion battery that charges from a typical 120V AC wall outlet, that range is likely enough for most neighborhood cruisers.
There’s even apparently an add-on roof accessory as well, turning this into a full (or slightly more) featured urban runabout.
And the best part is probably the price. If you haven’t checked lately, today’s golf carts are insanely expensive. If you’ve driven away from a golf cart dealer without breaking five figures, you’ve performed a rare feat. $12,000 golf carts are the norm, and the prices go up quickly from there. But this little guy? It’s priced at a cool US $4,999. Sure, I’ve got a garage full of electric bikes that can go three times as fast for a third of the price, but they serve a different role and are meant for a different type of commuter.
Perhaps small electric golf carts are the affordably-priced car alternatives needed for those who aren’t ready to throw their leg over a bike or mix it up with cars on the main roads. They’re a fair-weather friend for all of those local errands that simply don’t require a 5,000 lb vehicle.
In a sea of ever larger and heavier electric vehicle launches, this could be a chance to return to basics with a right-sized machine for local trips. Just think about it: while your neighbor is compensating for lord-only-knows-what with his Cybertruck, your sheer confidence can make you the talk of all the ladies at the local bunco night.
Electrek’s Take
You know what? I freaking love this thing. I think the world would be a better place with more odd little EVs that are designed to be just enough for the job.
How many parents shuttle their kids around the neighborhood in a massive SUV? How many down-the-road school runs could be performed in a small, fun little EV like this? How many hops down to the local market could this thing do all over the US? The possibilities are endless!
And yes, I get it – this thing is barely a step up from a Rascal scooter designed for geriatrics. But you know what? “Barely” is still something. And it’s cool/cute/unique enough that I think a lot of people who wouldn’t want to ride around on grandma’s scooter would actually have fun on something like this. I know because I definitely would! Heck, I’ve got a reputation as the guy who will drive anything on the internet, but even I don’t want to be seen on a prescription scooter. This thing though? I’d drive this Kandi mini cart until the aluminum wheels fell off!
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Greenlane is firing up its second commercial EV truck charging corridor – this time connecting Southern California to Phoenix along Interstate 10. The move targets a major gap in electric freight infrastructure on one of the busiest shipping routes in the US.
Greenlane’s new electric truck corridor is backed by a strategic partnership with electric truck maker Windrose Technology, which has already proved the route’s viability. Its R700 Class 8 electric semi pulled off single-charge trips from Greenlane’s flagship Colton, California, site to Phoenix – nearly 300 miles – with a gross combined weight of 74,420 pounds and still had 12% battery left.
That’s no small feat for long-haul freight. Windrose also completed a Colton-to-Las Vegas run on I-15 under similar conditions. The trucks can charge fast, too – the R700 hit a peak 772 kW using dual-gun charging at Colton, cutting downtime for heavy-duty operations.
Windrose plans to build 2,000 electric trucks in 2026 and ramp up to 10,000 in 2027 worldwide. “Electric long-haul trucking isn’t just theory – it’s proven real-world performance,” said Windrose founder and CEO Wen Han.
The I-10 corridor will link Greenlane’s Colton hub to new sites in Blythe, California, and Greater Phoenix, Arizona. It’s part of the company’s larger plan to create a nationwide public charging network for medium- and heavy-duty fleets.
Electric trucking carrier Nevoya will be among the first customers to run the corridor. The company will use the Colton site as a charging and driver support base while operating battery-electric trucks along both I-10 and I-15.
Greenlane’s Colton flagship opened in April and packs over 40 high-speed chargers, including 12 pull-through bays for semis and 29 bobtail lanes. The site also has restrooms, Wi-Fi, 24/7 security, carports, office space, and parking – the kind of amenities long-haul drivers need on the road.
Read more: Greenlane’s flagship electric charging truck stop is now online
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Rivian has posted a job listing for a steering engineer, specifically mentioning work on a future steer-by-wire system for the company.
Update, Aug 11: Rivian has now specifically mentioned rear-wheel steering in a job posting.
Steer-by-wire is an automotive concept that has been around for a long time, but hasn’t yet reached mass adoption. The idea is to replace (or supplement) mechanical linkages between the steering wheel and the wheels with electronic actuators instead.
There are a number of potential benefits to this, like allowing more customizability or adaptability to a steering system, reducing mechanical complexity, or adding speed-sensitive variable steering ratios.
Although there are also disadvantages, like a reduction in steering feel (although, since most cars are moving to electronic power steering, that was already gone anyway).
But few cars have implemented steer-by-wire systems, or at least not fully committed to them, given that mechanical steering racks are a relatively solved problem and the general inertia of the car industry which would rather stick with a solution they know than switch to something better (haven’t we here, at this EV publication, heard *that* one before…). There’s also the matter of regulations, which have often been written to require mechanical steering systems, and may need updating to allow for steer by wire.
But, steer by wire made it into mass production with the release of the Tesla Cybertruck. This was big news when Tesla committed to this – at the time, it was the only thing on the road to exclusively use a steer by wire system, though there are other cars with partial steer by wire (for example, mechanical front wheel steering, and steer by wire rear-wheel steering).
But it seems to have opened the floodgates, as a number of other companies are working on or have since released steer by wire systems (Lexus, for example).
And now, it looks like Rivian is one of those companies – though we don’t know if it’s for the front or rear. (Update: Well, now we know, it looks like they are at the very least developing a rear-wheel steering system, according to another job listing. Though the company might still be working on steer-by-wire for the whole vehicle, too)
The company posted a job listing for “Sr. Staff Technical Program Manager, Steering Actuator System,” based at its Irvine, CA headquarters (spotted by Rivianforums). This wouldn’t be so exceptional, except that the job posting also specifically points out that “you’ll have full cradle-to-grave ownership of the SBW subsystem.”
So – we know they’re working on steer by wire, to some extent.
But a few other EVs, particularly large EVs like the Rivian R1 platform is, use steer by wire just for the rear wheels – for example the Hummer EV and Rolls-Royce Spectre. These systems are particularly helpful for giant vehicles, because it allows them to be more nimble and make turns that otherwise would require a lot more… negotiation in a giant land yacht.
So it’s possible that Rivian is only working on rear wheel steer by wire here, but we’d like to think there’s a chance it’s working on steer by wire for the full vehicle.
We also don’t know if this would show up on all of Rivian’s vehicles, or only on certain models – the R2 and R3 are in development, with R2 in pretty late stages, and the R1 just got a big refresh. But, perhaps even more interestingly (and very speculatively), VW has invested heavily in Rivian for technology help, so we wonder if we might end up seeing this in VW group vehicles, or Scout vehicles eventually…
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Automakers are scrambling to push their EVs out the door before the $7,500 Federal tax incentive for EVs disappears — and BMW is no different, offering aggressive cash back, owner loyalty, and special financing rates on its just-released 2026 model year EVs.
BMW has a history of offering solid loyalty incentive programs on its EVs in early summer to clear the tail-end of the model year and make room for the incoming builds, but CarsDirect is reporting some unusual loyalty deals from the brand that seem to suggest BMW is keen to capitalize on a spike in EV sales ahead of the Federal tax incentive’s looming cancellation in September.
BMW dealers now have the choice of adding an additional $1,000 loyalty contribution on select 2026 EVs. The i5 and i7 are offered with $1,000 and $4,000 loyalty bonuses, respectively, meaning if you drive a BMW and your dealer opts to tack on the extra bonus, you could save $5,000 on a 2026 i7. These loyalty programs are good when buying or leasing.
There’s also a $1,000 conquest bonus available for drivers of eligible EVs and PHEVs from other brands. This program is stackable with other offers.
Like other EV brands offering huge lease incentives, BMW customers will see the largest rebates on new BMWs when leasing. Now through September 30th, 2026 BMW i5, i7, and iX models are available with a stout $9,900 lease credit, while the bigger BMW XM comes in with a slightly lower, but still substantial $7,500 lease incentive.
Big deals on big BMW i7 sedan
People who prefer to own their vehicles once the payments are up can still score a great deal on an objectively excellent 2026 BMW i7 luxo-cruiser, thanks to the previously mentioned loyalty bonus if they’re previous customers plus a $7,500 Loan Credit that anyone can get when financing their new i7 with the brand’s captive financing company. BMW Bank offers financing rates as low a 3.99% for up to 60 months on the 2026 i5 and i7 sedans, as well as the iX crossover, as well as 4.99% APR 60-month rate on the high-performance XM plug-in hybrid.
The BMW iX, of course, snatched the top spot in J.D. Power’s EV Satisfaction Survey last year, having taken the crown from its BMW i4 stablemate. You can find out what’s behind that score here, or experience it for yourself at a local BMW dealer near you. Click the link(s) below to get a uniquely tailored offer on the exact BMW you want (trusted affiliate links).
SOURCES: CarsDirect, J.D. Power; images via BMW.
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