At some point or another, most people have wanted to drive a golf cart around town. Whether it be the novelty or the sense of forbidden-ness, something about the idea of hopping on a cart to run errands has an undeniable allure. This Okanagan company makes those seemingly impossible dreams into an eco-friendly reality—and they’re for sale.
SC Carts is an all-Canadian manufacturing company that makes and sells electric street-legal low-speed vehicles—with a specialty in golf carts.
Running on rechargeable lithium batteries, the vehicles are street-legal on any road with a speed limit of 50 km/h or less and can drive distances of 60 to 80 kilometres on a single charge.
The company started back in 2010 when founder and CEO Jeffery Holomis’s aircraft manufacturing company at the time was bought out.
“I kind of came across the idea of using golf carts, so using fleet returns of carts previously on the golf course and repurposing them for non-golf course use,” he said.
Holomis got his start by purchasing four old golf carts from an auction house and seeing what modifications he could make to repurpose them. He said sold his first cart in the local classifieds and kept “tinkering” in his shop space just as something to keep him busy.
As they developed further, he eventually trialled switching over to lithium batteries from lead-acid batteries. Though more expensive, Holomis said it balances out in the vehicle’s running economy.
“They’re more energy efficient, take less time to charge, and they’re also lighter so the vehicle performs better,” he said.
Holomis continued with his cart ventures and built the business into what it is today. Next up, his electric vehicle endeavour will roll up to the Fully Charged LIVE event in Vancouver.
“We haven’t really attended any trade shows, so even though we’ve been around since 2010 we’re still relatively unknown as a company. I think Fully Charged will bring a lot of awareness that way to us,” he said.
The event will have a designated test-driving area, and Holomis said that he thinks that will contribute to some of his carts getting bought on the spot.
“Once the consumer sits in it and drives it I have a feeling some of the vehicles we bring to display will be delivered to new homes on the way back,” he said.
Holomis’s carts are also fully custom to order, and patrons can be in control right down to the stitch colour on the upholstery before sealing the deal.
The trade show is taking place from Sept. 8-10, at the Vancouver Convention Centre.
As for the future of Holomis’s company, he said he hopes to expand further.
“I think the big thing to focus on is that we are a Canadian manufacturing company, and we’re providing Canadian jobs,” he said.
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