Outdoor Land Vehicle : Golf Cars

Product Profile

Today, golf cars that help save labor, let golfers transport their own clubs, lighten work for caddies and encourage smoother, more enjoyable rounds of the course are becoming mainstream. Yamaha offers models in various specs based on market and consumer (golf clubs and resorts) needs, with different passenger capacities (2 or 5 seats), power units (gasoline engine or electric motor) and drive systems (electromagnetic guidance or manual).

Background of the Business

Based on a motorized passenger cart Yamaha created and used at a resort, the company developed and released its first golf car, the YG292, in 1975. As the business grew, we began production at factories in the United States in addition to the facility in Japan, and have produced over one million golf cars to date.

Current Market Conditions

In Japan, demand is highest for five-seater models for also carrying caddies, while in the United States where golfing without caddies is common, two-seater models are popular. In 1996, we released our first electromagnetic-guided golf car model, which drives automatically by having onboard sensors trace electric cables buried underground. We then launched a more eco-friendly model with a quieter electric motor in 2000, and a new series of models in 2018 equipped with a driving support system that remembers routes. In these ways, Yamaha golf cars continue to evolve with new technologies.

Efforts toward Level-4 Autonomous Driving

For more than 20 years, Yamaha has been developing autonomous driving systems based on golf cars and land cars, and they are being used in various situations. Since 2014, we have been offering vehicles capable of navigating public roads as a means of transportation to solve transit issues posed by the aging population and depopulation. Due to the recent increase in societal demand for the societal implementation of autonomous driving, the government is strengthening its efforts in that area* . We have actively participated in these activities and supplied vehicles to Japan’s first level-4 autonomous driving operation service, which began in May 2023 in Eiheiji-cho, Fukui Prefecture.
In addition, for navigating in areas outside public roads, our newly established company, eve autonomy, Inc., began offering its in-factory autonomous transportation service in 2022. Yamaha develops, manufactures and sells EVs capable of using the service for level-4 autonomous driving.

*Activities such as the “Project on Research, Development, Demonstration and Deployment (RDD&D) of Autonomous Driving toward the Level 4 and its Enhanced Mobility Services (RoAD to the L4)”

Production