Green, cheap and now safe: the golf buggy arrives on UK roads

Greenwise Staff

21st April 2010

Eco-friendly commuters and businesses looking for a low cost alternative to electric and hybrid cars now have the opportunity to test drive the latest green vehicle to hit the UK market – the golf buggy.

EMerge, the world’s first road-legal golf buggy was launched in the UK today by Oldham-based ePower Trucks.

After adding a number of automotive safety features to the basic golf buggy chassis, ePower Trucks has secured full EU Type Approval for the EMerge and expects the buggy to replicate in the UK the success Neighbourhood Electric Vehicles have had in North America, where in states such as California and Florida, the buggies are used as second or third cars.

The EMerge has a top speed of 25mph and a range of 30 miles on a full battery charge and, according to ePower Trucks, costs less than four pence per mile to run.

"It is designed for very specific applications – and it is the most efficient, cost-effective, clean and green vehicle for those applications," said Jerry Hanss, managing director for ePower Trucks.

The EMerge is suitable for commercial use on large business sites

For commuters, those applications include using it for short trips to the shops or to work, but the golf buggy is also suitable, according to Hanss, for use in large sites such as ports, airports, hospitals, universities and army bases.

"EMerge is designed for closed campus environments, where a lot of vehicles spend their whole working lives in an area measuring just a few square miles," he said.

"In these circumstances, it really doesn’t make economic or environmental sense to use a petrol or diesel-powered vehicle, when you could use EMerge."

Available in two and four seat configurations the EMerge is also fitted with an onboard heater and all-weather enclosure in line with the British weather.