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Vernon low-speed vehicle manufacturer takes it to the NXT level

Local firm launches NXT

Rob Gibson

A Vernon manufacturer has released its second generation of street legal low-speed electric vehicles.

SC Carts was the first in Canada to receive Transport Canada approval for low-speed vehicles in its class.

The NXT City launched on Monday, offering a trio of models – two-door, four-door, and a two-seat utility version.

CEO Jeff Holomis says the company has been in business for 11 years, and launched its own line of vehicles in 2017. Street legal approval was granted in 2019.

The second-generation vehicle was about a year and half in development, and can be legally operated on any road with a speed limit of 50 km/h or less and in any community that has approved low-speed vehicles.

Holomis was previously in aviation manufacturing and operated Full Lotus Floats at the Vernon Airport, which built floats for amphibious aircraft. From there, he got into golf cart manufacturing, which led to the low-speed electric vehicle market.

"LSVs are becoming more accepted on the roads ... It's more of an education process at this point," he says of consumer knowledge of his product.

SC sources parts from all over the world – the U.S., Germany, China, India – and builds its vehicles at its plant on Greenhow Road, at the north end of Swan Lake.

Holomis has nine staff at the plant, where they build LSVs that range in price from $20,000 to $26,000.

More than just a golf cart, the NXT City can be fully enclosed, has heat, air conditioning, a sunroof, stereo system and be customized in numerous ways. The company even used one as a snow plow this winter.

Holomis says the target market is municipalities, which might use the LSVs for bylaw or parks staff, and condo or resort communities.

The electric vehicles have a 95-km range on a single charge and have a top speed of 40 km/h.

"The initial reaction has been very positive," says Holomis. "We get a lot of looks and lot of thumbs up ... they are definitely becoming more accepted.



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