In business or leisure, procuring people movers like street-legal golf carts is often a choice between utility, style, eco-mindedness, and cost – most likely a partial combination of one or two of these. However, surges in electric vehicle (EV) technology have boosted development in this space, and leaders are beginning to emerge – with Central Florida and Ultimate Carts in particular a bright spot of growth.
In EV golf cart manufacture, market leaders ICON and Epic are making good on their goals to make EV attainable to all. Epic EV, based in San Diego, has been in the game for over a decade, having made a splash with electric hybrid sport boats and other EVs. ICON’s main hub is Tampa, making Central Florida a name in this growth industry.
Street-Legal EV Golf Carts in Orlando
In EV retail, at the center of a scramble to become the premiere EV dealer in Central Florida, Joe Labon of the Ultimate family of vehicle dealerships has made his push to take the lead. Over the last three decades, the company has codified the processes and culture of their sales model, branding their service The Ultimate Experience. Labon’s work to deploy this model for EV golf carts includes opening up dealerships in Orlando (Winter Park), New Smyrna Beach, and Tampa. At the moment, it appears no other white-glove dealerships have staked out similar positions in Central Florida.
Unlike the more general-purpose golf carts or golf car dealers in the area, Labon and Ultimate Carts is laser-focused on electric, street-legal golf carts. Though the specialization appears tight and narrow, the appeal potential is wide, particularly in a state like Florida. The highly developed leisure culture, most notably among golfers and the retiree demo, loves a next-level golf cart; and the sprawling layout of the land itself often means businesses, HOAs, hospitals, schools and the like are in a constant struggle to meet intracampus transportation needs. For them, the EV component is not only the utilitarian option, but the sustainable one. And if Labon has something to do with it, he intends to make it the stylish one as well.
The new Orlando golf cart dealership facility is in Winter Park at 845 N Mills Avenue.