Daedong Mobility Co. said on the 14th it will move to tap the U.S. golf cart and low-speed vehicle (LSV) market. Its strategy is to expand its global smart mobility business by applying in the United States the locally tailored products and sales and service capabilities it proved in Japan.
The U.S. golf cart and LSV market is estimated at about 350,000 units a year. As uses expand beyond golf courses to resorts, hotels, gated communities and retirement housing complexes, demand is also growing for premium products that emphasize travel convenience, ride comfort and design.
Daedong Mobility Co. chose multi-passenger premium products as the first target for its U.S. push. Starting in July, it has been conducting a proof-of-concept (PoC) for a six-passenger premium limousine cart in Utah, Texas and Georgia. Local dealers, resorts and local governments are operating the vehicles themselves to verify driving performance, ride comfort, convenience features and compliance with safety standards.
The company will refine its U.S. business model and dedicated product specifications within the year based on the PoC results and local customer feedback, and it will seek market entry next year. It then plans to secure local sales and service partners and expand its product portfolio to gradually scale up the business.
For the U.S. expansion, it will apply the business model it built in Japan. Daedong Mobility Co. secured experience in establishing a market foothold that runs from developing locally tailored products to building sales and service networks, verifying production and quality competitiveness, and expanding orders. Beyond simple product exports, it plans to build product, distribution and service systems together to nurture golf carts and LSVs as global growth engines.
The Japan business has shown growth recently. Daedong Mobility Co.'s golf cart sales in Japan from January to August this year were 96 units, 3.7 times more than the same period last year. Revenue over the same period was about 1.6 billion won, up 4.5 times year over year.
In January this year, it signed a contract with Hamada, a comprehensive golf equipment trading company in Japan. Hamada has a sales network in key regions of Japan and has experience supplying products to about 800 golf courses. Daedong Mobility Co. is using this to strengthen local sales touchpoints and after-sales service capabilities.
Park Kyung-jun, head of the mobility business division at Daedong Mobility Co., said, "We confirmed the competitiveness of our business model in Japan that combines locally tailored products, production quality and a sales and service network," and added, "We will expand the market-settlement model built in Japan to key markets such as the United States to nurture golf carts and LSVs as global growth engines."