A Neighborhood Electric Vehicle (NEV) is an American term for a speed limited battery electric vehicle (usually 25 miles per hour in the U.S.A.) restricted by law to operation on roads with speed limits not exceeding 35 MPH. Often such vehicles are not built from scratch but instead are slightly modified golf carts. To satisfy requirements for operation on streets, NEVs are equipped with three-point seat belts, windshields and windshield wipers, running lights, headlights, brake lights, reflectors, rear view mirrors, and turn signals. In many cases, doors may be optional, and crash protection from other standard vehicles is almost non-existent.

These vehicles are appropriate for communities that provide separate routes for these vehicles or generally accommodate slow speed traffic. Some retirement and golf club communities are so designed, but most modern communities within the USA are designed to separate residential neighborhoods from shopping centers, connecting them with relatively high speed thoroughfares with the expectation that a more traditional motor vehicle will be used for transport.

Examples

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• Global Electric Motorcars GEM
• Dynasty Electric Car Corporation
• e-ride Industries
• Zap!
• B.I.G. MAN
• Feel Good Cars
• Gibird - Low cost electric vehicles
• RUZway

Planned Communities with NEV Programs

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• Celebration, Florida
• Playa Vista, Los Angeles, California
• Discovery Bay, Hong Kong (Restriced to 500 vehicles)

Innovative transit system as well as electric Hybrid transit system is developed in India with low capital cost of vehicles and low and apropriate technology.^*

See also

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• City car

Electric vehicles