Chip Motors unveils $15,000 electric utility vehicle
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- Chip Motors unveiled the Chip, an electric "life utility vehicle" starting at $15,000 for the 4-seat version and $18,000 for the 6-seat, with $250 fully refundable reservations and deliveries scheduled for 2027.
- The vehicle tops out at 25 mph and is street-legal only on roads posted 35 mph or under, placing it squarely in the federal low-speed vehicle (LSV) category alongside the GEM and Wink Motors' neighborhood EVs despite the company's "new category" branding.
- Chip claims 100+ miles of range, overnight charging on a standard 110V outlet, a NACS port for Level 2 public charging, and — per Forbes coverage — in-wheel motors paired with a roughly 15-kWh LFP battery pack mounted along the floor.
- The vehicle ships topless by default with plastic composite exterior panels and "hose-down" interiors, with options including air conditioning, a hard or soft top, roof rack, built-in navigation with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, and a TV-equipped "frunk."
- Chip Go, marketed as the vehicle parking itself and running errands, is actually teleoperation — expert human drivers remote-control the vehicle, and it only operates when the cabin is empty, per the company's own FAQ.
- Electrek frames the $15,000 price as a premium entry in the segment, noting Wink NEVs start under $9,000 and the GEM has sold the same street-legal neighborhood EV concept since the 1990s.
Why it matters: The $15,000 Chip lands as a premium-priced entrant in the affordable low-speed EV segment — well above Wink's sub-$9,000 NEVs — and its distinguishing 'Chip Go' feature is teleoperation rather than true autonomy, meaning buyers expecting self-driving capability may need to recalibrate, while competitors in the LSV space now face a more design-forward rival with remote valet functionality.
