ZAP has proven to be an excellent company when it comes to issuing press releases. They have also offered some nice products in the past, like the Zappy line of scooters. For some, the Xebra (see gallery below) fits their needs quite nicely, and for those people, ZAP is a fine company. For the rest of us, the chances that the ZAP X SUV, ZAP Alias or Detroit Electric brand ever get off the ground seems awfully slim.


Let's check out Number 19.

Recently, I wrote a post that talked about Volvo's statement that they were working exclusively with PML (a company that makes in-wheel electric motors). I found this concerning because I thought PML was working with Zap on the Zap-X, a Lotus-designed, affordable, normal-looking electric car. I contacted Zap Communication's Alex Campbell, who checked with Zap's CEO Steve Schneider about Volvo's statements. Zap says they are in a relationship with PML but only on three-wheeled vehicles. As for four-wheeled cars, Zap tried but it looks like PML went with Volvo. Zap has moved on to a Chinese company that they say is not only cheaper than PML but can provide in-wheel electric motors sooner. So there is no confusion, here is exactly what Zap says:

We signed an exclusive agreement with PML on 3-wheelers and at the time were negotiating with them on other vehicles. We have since partnered up with a company in China with rights to their wheel hub motors. The significance is that the wheel hub motor that we have acquired is currently working in application and we believe will be commercially available within a shorter period of time than PML's. It is my understanding that the PML motor has still yet to work in any automotive application. And they are expensive so it would need to be manufactured in China to stay competitive.

[Source: Alex Campbell from Zap]

Recently, I wrote that the Zap-X could be "months" away from mass production. No one shared my enthusiasm because the estimate included an indeterminately long "testing" period. I contacted Zap and they said the "situation is evolving very quickly because Youngman is already a very large manufacturing company with plans to move into automobiles" unlike, say, Tesla. Zap says the "ZAP-X is on the agenda" but "timetable projections will not be confirmed until the JV (joint venture) business plans between ZAP and Youngman have been further developed."

What was I thinking? The ink on the Zap-Youngman contract is still wet. Zap just showed the car images for the first time this year. The safety testing required for American cars could easily push the release to late 2008, early 2009... in America! I found an interesting interview with the CEO of Zap, Steve Schneider, where he says Zap will develop "electric vehicles for sale in China, and the Middle East, and South America, and here in the United States." Youngman is in China so "it gives us (Zap) the China market, of course" said the CEO.

This opens up an interesting possibility: What if affordable, normal, electric cars are commonplace in China before the US? Four things could keep Zap-X from premiering on China's streets. First, could the Chinese afford the Zap-X? The Cleantech article says "with volume manufacturing, Schneider said ZAP's target is to not have any passenger vehicle over $30,000." Two, can Youngman make enough cars? Youngman expects a capacity of 200,000 vehicles in 2008 and 300,000 in 2009. Three, what about safety tests for China? I don't mean to insult the great nation of China but from what I see in the headlines and Congressional hearings; IMHO quality testing won't cause a big delay there. Four, what if Zap just does not want to release in China first? I asked them but have not received a response yet.

I could see why Zap might be concerned. I know if I saw affordable, good looking, four door sedans driving around the streets of China for under $30,000, for a whole year while it went through testing in America, I might start to look into the electric car grey market. This is all very hypothetical, but do you think seeing the Zap-X crowding the streets of China could be a Sputnik-like moment for China-US relations? Do you think America should be embarrassed if it loses the "electric-car race" to China or another country?

[Source: Cleantech]

The product of the Zap-Lotus agreement, the Zap-X, a normal looking, electric, four door sedan, just might be "months" away from mass production. China.org.cn is reporting China's Youngman Automotive Group, the guys making the car for Zap, said they could deliver a test car to Zap by the end of this year and after testing by Zap, the sedan could go into mass production as little as two months later. Here is the quote:

"The sample vehicles will be finished at the end of this year or next January. Two or three months after testing, the electric-powered sedan under the Lotus brand will be the first to go into mass production."

Zap has not announced a release date (surprise!) but if things go as Youngman hopes, the Zap-APX could have a release date of Summer 2008; the earliest release date that we know of for any of the new, normal electric cars like the Miles Javlon. While a summer release date would give Zap the honor of being first to market with a normal electric car, the price and range are the more complicated issues. They have not given a price and the range is said to be 350 miles.

Whatever the release, price and range, the Zap-X looks like it will be an amazing car, should it ever be more than vaporware: in-wheel electric motors by PML FlightLink, a top speed of 155 mph, and 0 to 60 MPH in 4.8 seconds. While, I don't think anyone expects all of that to remain true, for an affordable car anyway, I am glad to hear that things are at least currently on track on Youngman's end for the Zap-APX. AutoblogGreen remains skeptical, as you know.



[Source: China.org.cn and tipster Domenick]

We have written about PML FlightLink's mini before. The news report in the video above has a few more details and a look under the hood, so we thought we would give you a look. The mini has four in-wheel motors and a battery under the hood. It also has a gas engine in the back that recharges the battery. This gives the car a 900 mile range. Zap liked that so much they ordered $10 M's worth for the Zap-X.

A few facts from the video. The battery is lithium. The gas engine in the back is smaller than a motorbike engine. It has regenerative braking. Learning computers, based on neural networks, control the motors and make 4,000 calculations a second. The car hits the test track this Summer. Chris Newman of PML claims a fourth of cars will be electric drive in five years.

He says every car company has looked at this and found it to the best model for cars. GM is developing the Volt which has a very similar set up. Even Toyota may follow suit, showing off a plug-in model recently. Is a serial Toyota hybrid far behind? Is the series hybrid the car of the future? Hard to argue with a 900-mile range. The series hybrid's time may have come.

[Source: YouTube]

Will Tesla soon have competition in the electric supercar market from Zap? They just might, if you believe the almost unbelievable statistics Zap! is claiming in their press release (a really big if). Information at this point leads us to believe that Zap!, like fellow electric carmaker Phoenix, will be using batteries purchased from Altairnano. Claims from Zap! indicate that their vehicle with these batteries will be able to travel 350 miles between charges, after a charge time of only 10 minutes. Phoenix claims a similarly short charge time for their vehicles with the Altairnano batteries.

Other interesting "green features" of the vehicle include solar charging from the vehicles glass. We have pondered the possibility of this before, and now it seems it may become a reality. Don't expect the solar charging to add a significant amount of drive time however, perhaps the vehicles accessories won't drain the batteries so fast. Don't expect a great deal of luggage space, however, the vehicle does have 4 doors, making it a more practical choice than some other potential electric vehicles. The dimensions of the vehicle indicate it will be slightly larger than the Toyota Prius. Here is one statistic that the Prius can't touch... how about up to 644 horsepower and a top speed of 155 mph? This performance would come with all-wheel-drive courtesy of a motor in each wheel.

Click for more about the vehicle, and another concept drawing.



[Source: ZAP via Insidegreentech]