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Gem History
Gem was founded in 1992 by a team of ex-General Motors engineers from Livonia, Michigan, under the name Trans2.
The GEM is one of the original low-speed tiny cars to popularize the concept of a neighborhood electric vehicle (NEV). The company was founded in 1992 by a team of ex-General Motors engineers from Livonia, Michigan, under the name Trans2.
This company was moved to Fargo in North
Dakota after it was purchased by a group of investors. The Global Electric Motorcars team designed and manufactured the first 48-Volt Gem vehicle in 1998. This vehicle allowed for two passengers and could drive up to 20 mph.
In 2000 after creating four models of the GEM vehicle, Daimler Chrysler Corporation purchased Global Electric Motorcars. It took them till 2004 to start producing new models of the GEM cars, however by January 2006 GEM had over 150 dealers.
In June 2010, Global Electric Motorcars introduced the first right-hand drive GEM electric vehicle to the market. Thirteen months later the current owner, Polaris, purchased Global Electric Motorcars.
In January 2022, it became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Waev.
Since 1998, there have been 50,000 GEM vehicles built and put on the market. Many of these vehicles are used for golf courses, apartment complexes, resorts, government agencies, universities, corporate campuses and individuals who wish to drive electric cars.
Shortly after 1998, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) established a new class of motor vehicles, the low-speed vehicle (LSV), also known as the Neighborhood Electric Vehicle (NEV). This classification allowed GEM cars to be driven on public roads, provided they met specific safety criteria such as having safety belts, headlamps, windshield wipers, and safety glass.
GEM battery-electric vehicles are street legal in nearly all 50 US states on public roads with speed limits of 35 mph (56 km/h) or less. With a top speed of 25 mph (40 km/h), GEM cars have a range of 30–100 miles (50–160 km) on a single charge depending on the installed battery technology. They are battery-electric, operating on a 72-volt battery system that can be plugged into a standard 3-prong 120-volt outlet for recharging, and they fully recharge in six to eight hours.
Currently, there are six different models of GEM cars available, GEM cars are utilized by local, state, and national government agencies, resorts, master-planned communities, universities, medical and corporate campuses, as well as by sports teams, taxi-shuttle services, and the general public.
Gem Car website.
Vehicles
As of October 2015, the GEM neighborhood electric vehicle is the market leader in North America, with global sales of more than 50,000 units since 1998.
Passenger Vehicles:
GEM e2 LSV — A two-passenger vehicle
GEM e4 LSV — A four-passenger vehicle
GEM e6 LSV — A six-passenger vehicle
Utility Vehicles: GEM eL XD LSV— A heavier duty version of the GEM.