page_title: Neighborhood Electric Vehicle
section_title: U.S. regulations
hierarchical_section_title: Neighborhood Electric Vehicle / U.S. regulations
caption_attribution_description: English: Italcar Neighborhood Electric Vehicle (NEV), www.italcar.com
context_page_description: A Neighborhood Electric Vehicle is a U.S. designation for battery electric vehicles that are usually built to have a top speed of 25 miles per hour, and have a maximum loaded weight of 3,000 lb. Depending on the particular laws of the state, they are legally limited to roads with posted speed limits of 45 miles per hour or less. NEVs fall under the United States Department of Transportation classification for low-speed vehicles. The non-electric version of the neighborhood electric vehicle is the motorised quadricycle.
  A NEV battery pack recharges by plugging into a standard outlet and because it is an all-electric vehicle it does not produce tailpipe emissions. If recharged from clean energy sources such as solar or wind power, NEVs do not produce greenhouse gas emissions. In the state of California NEVs are classified by the California Air Resources Board as zero-emissions vehicles and are eligible for a purchase rebate of up to $1,500 if purchased or leased on or after March 15, 2010.
  As of June 2014, the GEM neighborhood electric vehicle was the market leader in North America, with global sales of more than 50,000 units since 1998.
context_section_description: Low-speed vehicle is a federally approved street-legal vehicle classification which came into existence in 1998 under Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 500 (FMVSS 500). There is nothing in the federal regulations specifically pertaining to the powertrain.
  Low-speed vehicles are defined as a four-wheeled motor vehicle that has a gross vehicle weight rating of less than 3,000 pounds (1,400 kg) and a top speed of between 20 to 25 mph (32 to 40 km/h). Those states that authorize NEVs generally restrict their operation to streets with a maximum speed limit of 35 or 45 mph (56 or 72 km/h). Because of federal law, car dealers cannot legally sell the vehicles to go faster than 25 mph (40 km/h), but the buyer can easily modify the car to go 35 mph (56 km/h).  However, if modified to exceed 25 mph (40 km/h), the vehicle then becomes subject to safety requirements of passenger cars.
  These speed restrictions, combined with a typical driving range of 30 miles (48 km) per charge and a typical three-year battery durability, are required because of a lack of federally mandated safety equipment and features which NEVs can not accommodate because of their design. To satisfy federal safety requirements for manufacturers, NEVs must be equipped with three-point seat belts or a lap belt, running lights, headlights, brake lights, reflectors, rear view mirrors, and turn signals. Windshield wipers are not required. In many cases, doors may be optional, crash protection from other vehicles is partially met compared to other non motorized transport such as bicycles because of the use of seat belts.
caption: An Italcar EV
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