After 20 years in business in Australia, Augusta Golf Cars (E-Z-GO) has accelerated its share of the golf vehicles market by more than 1000 per cent, writes David Newbery
The Hamilton Island Edition launch of E-Z-GO vehicles was enjoyable for staff and customers.
IT all started on a golf course … just as so many golf-related business ventures do.
Augusta Golf Cars (E-Z-GO) came to fruition in 2004 after three acquaintances shared a round of golf and ideas.
“Twenty years ago, I was playing golf in a three-ball with Nico Schutte, my partner in business, and Adrian Johnson who was the E-Z-GO dealer for South Africa,” explained Raymond Georgiou, a chartered accountant by profession.
“Adrian had just won the rights for E-Z-GO in Australia. There was very little presence, infrastructure and resources here and they had less than two per cent of the market.
“So, we invested in the brand and formed Augusta Golf Cars and created infrastructure, resources, marketing and, as they say, the rest is history.
“And 20 years later we are still going and estimate our overall market share now to be between 35-40 per cent.”
That’s praiseworthy and to celebrate the milestone in the golf vehicles business in Australia there will be a get-together of staff and dealers at Sanctuary Cove on the Gold Coast.
Founders Raymond and Nico, who have been riding the golf cars business along together nicely for the past two decades, will host the birthday bash on Saturday, October 5.
Today, Augusta Golf Cars, the number one supplier of golf and utility vehicles in Australia, has offices in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne and dealers in all other major centres and regional areas.
The Augusta Delivery Truck dropping off a Batch of E-Z-GO’s Golf Cars.
“We have a good product and, in a lot of ways, we have been the leader in innovation and technology – especially when the lithium battery was launched,” Mr Georgiou said.
“It’s changed the golf car industry and E-Z-GO has been the forerunner and innovators in terms of that space.”
Nico Schutte, who used to import second-hand E-Z-GO cars in the early 2000s, told Inside Golf the company had grown from an $800,000 business to $45m in the past 20 years.
“A lot of that growth is due to Raymond who is an unbelievably good manager and relationship builder,” he said. “When it comes to selling, you have to build relationships and have good service and we do that.”
He also credits the E-Z-GO’s golf fleet manager Paul Jones for a spike in the growth.
“When Paul started with us in early 2005, he got so many clubs on board. Paul left the company briefly but he is back and making a massive difference again.
“However, our success is testament to all our experienced and passionate staff, some of whom have been with us for 10 years plus, staff members including Mats Marklund, Markus Thiele, Steven Cross, Tom Tocknell, Ian Bastock, Bruno Iorfino, Alan Pearce, Rico Schutte and Jarryd Georgiou, all of who together with all our other staff members have been instrumental to our growth and success”
Augusta Golf Cars, too, has a significant commercial side to its portfolio and sells transportation (cars) to business communities including retirement villages, airports, factories and holiday parks, etc.
“This part of the business has grown substantially over the years, the growth coincided with the Appointment of Graham Janson, who has done a stirling job in this sector” Mr Georgiou added.
“And because we have representation across the country, we are probably the only golf car company in Australia that truly offers a one-stop shop service where we can engage corporate, government departments and businesses and service them from one point of contact.
“We can do this nationally because we have branches and dealers in most strategic areas, who work together as one big family, to ensure this service is provided to our customers.
“Our wonderful staff are passionate about the business and provide after-sales service that I believe is the best in the country.”
Still, there are plenty of challenges and hurdles to overcome to remain relevant in the golf cars industry because it’s a moving target in an ever-changing landscape.
Through clever business acumen, E-Z-GO has been able to keep pace with the changes and, as a result, is self-sufficient.
“Planning and forecasting in this business is challenging because you are dealing with exchange rates and global changes that are out of your control,” Mr Georgiou explained.
“Then there are the relationships with golf clubs. When we first started, we could build relationships with golf pros because they generally owned the golf carts,” he said.
“But over time that has changed and now around 90 per cent of golf carts are owned by the clubs so you are dealing with committees and they often change so it can be difficult to build long-lasting relationships.
The new E-Z GO Queensland Showroom built in 2022.
Another major concern for the E-Z-GO brand and its main competitors, Club Car and Yamaha, is what has been described as a Chinese sugar hit – less expensive brands now entering the market.
“There are a multitude of Chinese brands popping up selling golf cars at ridiculously cheap prices in Australia, America and other countries and it’s gaining momentum,” Mr Georgiou said. “In America, the market pre-Covid was estimated to be worth $130m and post-Covid it has grown to $980m.
“There are 20-30 Chinese brands marketed and sold in the US and the same is happening in Australia. It might be good for the consumer, but it’s short-lived because it’s not sustainable.
“There will be changes and casualties over time – businesses that will close. I think consumers need to be very careful when they buy into that market because the products will disappear and there will be no after-sales service, no spare parts, no warranty and they will be left high and dry.
“At E-Z-GO we have on-site support and service facilities via our well-equipped service vehicles and highly-trained and experience staff,” Mr Georgiou said.
“There isn’t a requirement we can’t satisfy. We have a large range of product and we customise and modify and can produce a vehicle for any requirement.”
Nico Schutte said he would like to see Australia follow in America’s footsteps in terms of allowing golf cars on slow-moving suburban roads.
“In the US, they have opened up all the 50km/h areas to LSV’s (low speed vehicles),” he said. “If you allow more buggies on the roads in the more populated areas you won’t get the fumes you get now.
“For example, if somebody lives two kilometres from a school they can take the kids to school in a golf buggy. It’s cheap and it’s a nice thing to do for the environment.”
Mr Georgiou said the Augusta Golf Cars (E-Z-GO) milestone was commendable and believed there would be many more celebrations in the future.
“We have been here for 20 years and we’ll be here celebrating in another 20 years,” he said.
Footnote: Augusta Golf Cars are the sole distributors of E-Z-GO, Cushman, Pace Technology and Textron Offroad products in Australia and the Pacific Region. For more information, visit the website www.ezgo.com.au
Custom E-Z-GO vehicles have become very popular in gated communities.
Chief writer David Newbery has been living, breathing and writing and editing golf for more than 30 years. His extensive knowledge of the game comes from covering golf around the world. Hired by Inside Golf in 2009, David previously worked as the editor of The Golfer for 25 years and before that worked for numerous daily newspapers in Australia and overseas. The Brisbane-based journalist describes his golf game as “a work in progress”, but has had the privilege of playing golf with some of the game’s best players including nine-time major winner Gary Player. David enjoys travelling, reading, music, photography and spending time with family and friends – on and off the golf course. 
