ATV Style | Electric ATV - The Battery Powered ATEV

In 2002 I came across an electric ATV ad in the fall/winter J.C.Penney catalog, on page 423 if you’re a nostalgia buff and want to see it for yourself, and I knew then that the sport ATV market would soon see the rise of Battery powered ATVs. The electric ATV ad contained a Yamaha Bear Tracker without the Yamaha logo. Underneath the $4000.00 price tag it said the ATV weighed just 200 lbs and came with four wheel disk brakes.

Seven years later the All Terrain Electric Vehicle, or ATEV, rivals its gas powered competitors in every category with the exception of one, the sport ATV market.

Electric ATV popularity is on the rise and its use now dominates in many places such as the golf course and at most sporting events. You’ve probably even seen one being used by the maintenance at your local high school.

ATEVs are perfectly suited for work in crowded area where noise and pollution aren’t welcome so their popularity comes as no surprise but why hasn’t the electric ATV attained similar success in the sport ATV arena? Let’s explore that a little.

In December of 2007 I shared a news story with you about Jamie Hyneman of Mythbusters and his electric ATV project. Jamie called the battery powered EUV, which is short for Electric Utility Vehicle, Barefoot Model One. Jamie Hyneman electric ATV video.

Jamie says: “A lot of people have a pre-conception that electric vehicles are slower than gas-powered vehicles. We’re going to bust that myth” and bust it he did!

Electric ATV benefits

• Zero emissions motor makes it easy on the environment.
• Ultra quiet ATV with only minimal noise at full speed
• Rechargeable, eventually by using a solar panel
• The engine is powerful enough to be used in a car
• Less moving parts leads to a lower risk of engine failure

Imagine riding an ATV in the desert or remote area and you accidentally run out of gas. With a electric ATV, or battery powered EUV as Jamie likes to call it, you could just wait for the sun to recharge the battery via solar panel and continue on your way. Technology isn’t quite there yet but it’s not far away, actually the electric vehicle company RTEV just re-launched the Ruff and Tumble line of electric ATVs in early 2008.

EZ Go is another company that manufactures electric ATVs and electric quads.