While conventional electric cars from China are effectively locked out of the U.S. market through steep import tariffs, low-speed Chinese electric vehicles are gaining some traction in the country. These aren’t the small EVs you see zipping by in Chinese cities; they are much closer to powerful golf carts, perfect for quick, short trips like picking up groceries and making school pickups and drop-offs.
With a top speed of 25 miles per hour, these electric golf carts are more suited for university campuses, retirement communities, small towns, and residential complexes. In Scotland, parents are using low-speed electric golf cars to pick up and drop off children at school; retirees in Florida use them to get their groceries, while Italian resorts have started using the golf carts in place of their usual shuttle buses.
Chinese manufacturers are filling a market gap that the most established automakers in the world aren’t really interested in addressing: low-speed and low-power transportation for small-scale travel. Tao Motor, the Chinese firm behind the Denago brand, builds low-speed golf carts equipped with Apple CarPlay, a touchscreen display, LED light bars, a sound system, and a Tesla-esque charging display.
Chinese automotive industry analyst and consultant Cao He says demand for low-cost and convenient eco-friendly transport is surging in markets outside China. This has created a massive growth opportunity for Chinese firms with a proven history of developing high-quality, low-speed, and low-cost electric vehicles.
With the backing of China’s gargantuan electric vehicle supply chain, these firms quickly optimized their low-speed EVs for foreign markets and began shipping them overseas. According to the China Automobile Dealers Association, small and micro-electric vehicles made up 53.8% of China’s electric vehicle exports in May 2025 as Chinese companies rapidly expanded their production and shipping efforts.
Before anyone really knew it, China was already on its way to cornering the low-cost EV market, with Tao Motor alone accounting for around 10% of the global market. Tao earned $290.5 million in revenue from its golf cart business in 2025, and American customers were responsible for more than 80% of its sales.
Tao Motor has built a network that extends from China and Vietnam to the U.S., putting it in the perfect position to serve customers in America and other markets outside China. The company joins a growing number of Chinese firms that have begun building their production ecosystems overseas, rather than just exporting products, and designing products specifically for foreign markets like the U.S. via local assembly and locally tailored service networks.
While companies like Ferrari N.V. (NYSE: RACE) have specialized in serving a niche high-end market, Chinese firms like Tao Motor are growing their fortunes by serving the lower end of the automotive market that is unglamorous but can be very profitable.
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