Toro looks to sell more to resorts, large campuses with new golf cartlike vehicle

Toro Co. has entered another new product category with the introduction of the Vista, golf cartlike shuttles for resorts, golf courses and large campuses.

The move makes sense, the Bloomington-based company says, because it fills a need for its existing customers and gives Toro another piece of their customers' budgets.

Toro has been synonymous with golf course maintenance equipment, for example, but aside from a brief foray years ago, has not been in the golf cart market. The four- to eight-seat vehicles also will be marketed to resorts and large corporate and university campuses.

Cragun's Resort on Gull Lake in Brainerd is part of Toro's pilot project since it already was using Toro maintenance for its three golf courses. The resort itself is on about 4,500 feet of shoreline and has cabins, villas, suites and lodge rooms plus meeting and event space.

"It's a very large resort ... so people movers are a key," said Jack Wawro, director of golf at Cragun's, which has been testing the six-seat model of the Vista. "To be honest with you, everyone loves this. The staff's using it quite a bit, we have a huge need for here. So it makes sense for us."

Toro has been finding new markets in the past decade. In 2019, it added underground Ditch Witch construction equipment through its acquisition by Charles Machine Works. Both were part of the strategy of adding incremental opportunities for customers.

"Vista fits with the needs of existing customers," said Noah Wahl, senior product marketing manager at Toro. "We realized there was this gap and felt like we could deliver a shuttle vehicle that provided customers with the same durability, reliability and flexibility they have come to expect from a Toro vehicle with the added benefits that the Toro HyperCell battery brings."

The new Vista models look similar to extended golf carts, low speed vehicles (LSV) or neighborhood electric vehicles (NEV) that also operate in closed communities and large campuses. The Vista line has working DNA that puts it into something other than those categories.

Some shuttles are stretched versions of golf carts. They sometimes linger on the bottom of repair and maintenance lists because it's yet another brand that maintenance and service crews need to be trained on and parts might be coming from different sources.

Toro took the approach of basing Vista off of vehicles that already populate those machine ships and garages, namely their Workman lineup of maintenance and utility equipment.

Because they share the same DNA with the Workman line, service and maintenance staff will be familiar with servicing the vehicles and parts will be more readily available.

In a tight labor market, consolidating brands has benefits in purchasing, training and service.

"Selling more product to the same customer base, that always makes sense," said Pete Johnson, a portfolio manager for St. Paul-based Mairs & Power, which has been a longtime shareholder of Toro.

Toro has engineered Vista meet the needs of moving people by beefing up the frames and giving consumers the options to choose gas or electric engines powered by Toro's propriety HyperCell lithium ion rechargeable battery system and can be configured into four-, six- and eight-passenger models.

Toro has used its HyperCell technology across its product portfolio from hand-held garden and maintenance tools to its GrandStand and Z Master Revolution professional lawn mowers.

Toro engineers and product managers also made thoughtful design and operational decisions. The stock models come standard in white with panels that can be painted, wrapped in vinyl, or accept decals that match a customer's brand stylebook.

Design choices also came over from Toro's other products, including the ability of a fleet manager to limit acceleration, top-end speed and other ride characteristics to assure the ride comfort of passengers from novice or over-eager drivers.

Things like a parking brake on the battery version that automatically gets applied when the vehicle stops — and disengages automatically when the vehicle starts — gives drivers one less thing to worry about and allows them to focus more on their guests and passengers.

Toro product managers and engineers having seen plenty of stretched frame golf carts in the corner of machine sheds with bent or broken frames. They've beefed up Vista's frames and added a slight bow to the eight-seat model that better distributes weight.