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Global Electric Motor Cars
The Global Electric Motor (GEM) corporation was founded in 1992 by a team of ex-General Motors engineers with the name Trans2. However, after five years in development, the company was headed for bankrupt in 1997, but was purchased by a group of North Dakota investors, changed the company name to the current one, and the headquarters were moved to Fargo in North Dakota. The first development model came very soon after the more sound financial backing, as 1998 saw the concept model. The first GEM car had a top speed of 20 mph, with space for two people. Soon afterwards, in 2000, the company was purchased by DaimlerChrysler, and was spun off with the separation of Chrysler and Daimler in 2007 into the Chrysler unit. To date, according to the company, GEM has produced more than 35,000 vehicles and currently offers six different models primarily suited to intra-city use. GEM vehicles are commonly used in fleet service, hospitals, military bases, airports, golf courses, parks, and seniors communities. As an example, the Italian Carabinieri, a military body charged with police duties among civilian populations, uses the GEM e2, called the Ovetti (egg), which they use for patrolling urban areas:  GEM manufactured battery-electric vehicles are classified as low-speed vehicles, or neighborhood electric vehicles.
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