In addition to the planned Alias from ZAP, the electric vehicle company reportedly wants to branch into the electric pickup truck market as well. According to the latest in a long line of press releases from ZAP, the company has completed the engineering stage of a project to develop a four-wheel electric pickup. The company claims it plans to build the new EV right here in the United States using parts and components largely sourced from U.S. suppliers.

We surmise that the electric truck would be built alongside the Alias at the delayed ZAP Motor Manufacturing Kentucky plant in Franklin, Kentucky. To make this goal a reality, ZAP has reportedly applied for a $160 million loan from the U.S. Department of Energy's Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing (ATVM) program. We're not sure if this would be the Zap Truck that's featured on the company's website or something new. Check out the press release after the jump.


[Source: ZAP]

Apparently even the limited safety requirements applied by the U.S. government to vehicles classified as motorcycles were a bit too much for Zap Xebra. The Chinese-built electric vehicles are classed as motorcycles because they only have three wheels, which means they are not subject to crash safety standards. However, motorcycles still have to meet minimum braking performance requirements according to federal motor vehicle safety standard 122. Xebra's built during 2008 have failed to meet that requirement in testing and are being recalled for a fix. According to NHTSA, 738 vehicles are involved in the recall, but no fix has yet been identified by Zap or the manufacturer, Qingqi Group Motorcycle Co., LTD. Fortunately, the Xebra only has a top speed of 40 mph and most of these electric vehicles are used for duties like parking enforcement and as utility vehicles around campuses. We've contacted Zap for a comment on the situation but have yet to get a reply.

[Source: NHTSA]

Electric cars are supposed to be quiet, but things just got even quieter in Kentucky. Integrity Manufacturing, which was trying to get a factory going in Kentucky to build Zap electric vehicles, has closed the doors and turned off the lights. Apparently, the $125 million in financing the company was looking for never materialized and the accounts simply ran dry.

Integrity had hoped to employ up to 4,000 people building EVs, although employment peaked at 200 in the middle of 2008. Zap spokesman Alex Campbell told the Louisville Courier-Journal, "There is so much that has happened, I am not sure what is going on. We have our existing business to run." He declined any additional comment on future Zap manufacturing in Kentucky.

This is another example of how difficult it is to start up a car company, especially in a recession. Anyone hoping to get into the business needs to think long and hard. This doesn't bode well for other start-ups. Thanks to Michael for the tip!


[Source: Courier-Journal.com]

Say what you want about Zap (and we have), at the very least the company has brought a rolling prototype of the Alias three-wheeled electric vehicle to New Orleans. Zap will be unveiling this vehicle and a new low-speed Shuttle van at the NADA expo there this weekend. How do we know the vehicle can move on its own power? By watching the 30-second video after the jump. One of the official pictures from Zap (above, and there are more in the gallery below) gives the impression that this car is moving at high speeds, but in the video the car is just crawling slowly in a loading dock area. Still, this is more progress we've seen on this vehicle than anything else since it was first talked about about 20 months ago. For more details on the Zap Alias, see this post.

Thanks to anonymous for the tip!


[Source: Zap, YouTube]

We mentioned earlier today that Zap will be showing off a new low-speed Shuttle van at the NADA expo this weekend in New Orleans. That post included a note that the Alias, which was a part of the ill-fated Kentucky plant groundbreaking, would also be on display. It was in mid-2007 that Zap first talked about the Alias, their new three-wheeled vehicle - Zap's Alex Campbell just sent us two new renderings of the red Alias that will be down in the Big Easy

The Zapworld website claims that deliveries of the Alias will take place in late 2009 with an "approximate MSRP" of under $35,000. That kind of money will apparently get you li-ion batteries, a range over 100 miles and a 0-60 mph time of 7.8 seconds. Since the three-wheeled Alias will be considered a motorcycle for crash test purposes, Zap will add "enhanced safety features" like seatbelts and a roll hoop. There are more Alias renderings and pictures from Zap after the jump.


[Source: Zap]

Zap is coming to New Orleans for the annual National Automobile Dealers Association expo this weekend and is bringing a surprise vehicle with it. The company has announced it will debut a new five-passenger, low-speed electric van at the show. Unlike the Zap Xebra, the new Zap Shuttle has four wheels (like the Zap Truck XL) and 108 cubic feet of carrying space. The NEV can carry up to 900 pounds and costs $14,700. For a few extra bucks, you can add air conditioning, solar panels or a rapid charger to the package. The standard van can recharge in six hours from a 110 volt outlet and that'll be good enough to drive for 30 miles. Zap says it will also debut the Alias electric car at the NADA show. More details on that that when we get them.

The old standby, the Zap Xebra, hasn't been totally forgotten. It recently made an appearance on the TV show Monk; watch a video of that after the break.


[Source: Zap]

Tesla isn't the only electric-car company angling for some of the "bailout" billions. A couple of newly-hired execs over at ZAP! have opinions about who should get some of the money (Yeah, it came as a shock to us too) that Washington seems willing to dish out to Detroit auto makers. Rodger L. Cornish and H. Dennis Kammerer are two industry veterans who recently climbed aboard the ZAP! train to take care of the company's fleet and dealership customers. They believe that government should consider helping companies who are already building selling electric vehicles. Cornish succinctly states, "It will take years for the auto industry to move into electric cars when ZAP has the electric cars and trucks we want today. If ZAP has achieved this without Federal support, imagine what they could do with just a little?"

Company co-founder and former chairman Gary Starr, puts a finer point on it. "The federal government should ensure that small auto companies such as ZAP receive equal treatment for both the tax credit and from the loan program. I believe this is what Congress intended when they approved TARP. It seems wrong that ZAP's employees, dealers, customers and 15,000 shareholders, as tax payers, will be loaning money to the Big 3 to not build electric cars, while ZAP is actually building them. Why should the smaller electric car companies help finance their competition?" Press release after the break.

[Source: ZAP!]

Al Yousuf, based in the United Arab Emirates, is a large company with holdings in the automotive, computer and boat industries. Late last week, the company announced it would expand its green car tech investments by buying 8 million shares of common stock of Altair Nanotechnologies Inc. Al Yousuf now owns about 21 percent of Altair, up from 14 percent before the purchase. In May, the Al Yousuf Group bought $475,000 of Zap's convertible debt, and Al Yousuf LLC's Eqbal Al Yousuf is chairman of the board at ZAP.

It is next to impossible to figure out exactly what is coming in the future from ZAP, but almost two years ago Altair said that it was talking to ZAP about using Altair's batteries in the ZAP-X (above). Even though the ZAP-X is nowhere to be found, the new connection to Altair at least provides good hope fodder for people who want to see Altair's batteries in ZAP vehicles like the Alias (below).


[Source: Al Yousuf LLC]

As we reported early last month, Zap has finally updated its three-wheeled Xebra for 2009 with a new steel body and much more storage space through its new hatchback. While we're happy to hear that one of the few actual electric vehicles on the market and available today has seen vital upgrades, we've yet to run across a review of the newly-revised model... until today. Mark LaPedus over at EE Times hopped in a new '09 at the local dealership in San Jose, California, and he's shared his thoughts with the rest of the class, even comparing the Xebra with his 2008 Honda Accord. LaPedus seems to have liked the car, going so far as to suggest that he'd be willing to drive one on a regular basis.

The last page of ADL's review of the Xebra has a few quotes from Zap regarding the ongoing saga of loans to the Detroit 3. Click here to read the entire report.


[Source: EE Times]