The GEM e4 is the four-passenger model of Global Electric Motorcars. It was the first GEM to carry four people, entering production in December 1998, and it is built on the two-seat e2. Like the rest of the range it is a low-speed vehicle, limited to 25 mph (40 km/h) and charged from an ordinary household socket.
GEM e4 at a glance
| Maker | Global Electric Motorcars (GEM), Fargo, North Dakota |
|---|---|
| Class | low-speed vehicle / neighbourhood electric vehicle |
| Seats | four |
| Based on | GEM e2 |
| First produced | December 1998 |
| Drive | battery-electric |
| Battery system | 72 volts |
| Batteries | six 12-volt lead-acid or lead-gel units |
| Top speed | 25 mph (40 km/h) |
| Range | 30–100 miles (50–160 km) depending on battery technology |
| Redesign | October 2016, with lithium-ion battery options |
Based on one source: the English and German Wikipedia pages on Global Electric Motorcars, which describe the brand rather than the e4 individually. This article is marked as based on one source.
History of the GEM e4
The first four-seater
GEM’s first car of April 1998 held only two people. The four-seat version followed within the year: the company records the first GEM e4 as built in December 1998, the same year as the eS and eL utility models. The German page describes the four-seater plainly as the e2 with a longer body, which is also the simplest way to understand the model: the same technology and the same short-trip purpose, with room for two more passengers.
How it is used
GEM cars are sold mainly to fleets rather than to private drivers. The company lists local, state and national government agencies, resorts, master-planned communities, universities, medical and corporate campuses, sports teams and taxi-shuttle services among its customers, and the four-seat e4 fits that pattern: on a large site it moves a small group of people at walking-site speeds. Municipal examples exist abroad too, such as the public GEM e4 cars used in Trento, Italy.
Battery, speed and legal class
The car runs on a 72-volt battery pack of six 12-volt lead-acid or lead-gel accumulators, charged from a standard American 110- or 120-volt outlet in six to eight hours. Top speed is 25 mph (40 km/h) and range runs from about 30 to 100 miles depending on the battery technology fitted. The model exists because of the low-speed vehicle class created by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration: with belts, headlamps, wipers and safety glass a GEM may use public roads, and GEM cars are street legal in nearly all 50 states on roads limited to 35 mph. The e4 was part of the October 2016 redesign that added lithium-ion options to the passenger range.
Design and features
- Four seats on a small footprint: the e2 formula with room for four.
- Fleet work: designed for campuses, resorts, municipalities and shuttle services.
- Household charging: six to eight hours on a 120-volt socket.
- Lithium-ion from 2016: the redesign of October 2016 replaced or supplemented the old lead packs.
GEM e4 versions
- e4 (from December 1998): the original four-seater on the e2 base.
- e4 with lead-acid or lead-gel batteries: the standard early specification.
- e4 with lithium-ion: available after the October 2016 redesign.
- Right-hand drive: GEM introduced a right-hand-drive vehicle in June 2010.
The e4 is built on the two-seat GEM e2, and the six-seat version is the GEM e6. The first car of the company is described in GEM car; more electric vehicles are in the GEM collection.
Sources
- Global Electric Motorcars, English Wikipedia: production date, models, technology, customers
- Global Electric Motorcars, German Wikipedia: e2 base, battery layout, charging
