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Pike Research says annual sales of plug-in vehicles in U.S. will hit 358,959 by 2017
Pike Research has put out an estimate saying that annual sales of plug-in vehicles in the United States will hit 358,959 by 2017. And they’re not all going to the usual suspects. Mostly, sure, but not all.
Since there is no national Level 2 (or faster) charging infrastructure the way there is a gasoline network, Pike compiled its data by geographic region and even broke down the numbers one city at a time. As Pike states:
As government officials and utility managers plan for the arrival of grid-connected vehicles, they need to understand where those vehicles are going to be located and what the impact could be.
Seems logical to us. So, where will all the plug-ins call home? Well, according to Pike, New York and California will lead the way at the state level. Looking at individual cities, Pike says New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego and Chicago will be the U.S.’ top five plug-in loving metropolitan areas. No big surprises there, but here’s a bit of a shocker: relative to population, Raleigh, NC will lead the nation in registered plug-ins by 2017.
Celebrating its 17th Anniversary, ZAP Jonway Positions Itself for Future
SANTA ROSA, California (September 23, 2011) – Today electric vehicle pioneer ZAP Jonway (OTC BB: ZAAP) celebrates its 17th Anniversary in the industry. ZAP’s majority acquisition of Chinese automobile manufacturer Zhejiang Jonway Automobile Co. Ltd. earlier this year (which resulted in the corporation formally doing business as ZAP Jonway), the additions of several new executives, and other structural changes have the company freshly focused in a new direction and prepared for future growth.
Engineering & High-Quality, Volume Manufacturing
The acquisition of Zhejiang Jonway Automobile in January was the first in a series of major positive structural changes for ZAP Jonway, including new management, new vehicles, new technologies, streamlining US operations, and a new overall direction.
“We couldn’t be more pleased with all the beneficial changes we’ve made in the last nine months,” says Alex Wang, Co-CEO of ZAP Jonway. “Now that Jonway and ZAP are operating as one entity, we can leverage the expertise of our Californian sales, marketing and engineering teams, and combine it with the high-quality, volume manufacturing of our China manufacturing facility, making us uniquely poised to become the market leader in practical commercial and consumer electric vehicles.” Read more…
ZAP Jonway Announces its First Quarter 2011 Consolidated Results following Completion of the Acquisition of 51% of Jonway Automobile
EVS-25 Update: China Leads EV Incentives
ZAP Jonway Hostesses on ZAPPY3 electric scooters at EVS-25, Click Image for Slide Show
FINAL DAY UPDATE: With all the cool EVs in the ZAP Jonway booth during EVS-25, you’ll be surprised to know that the ZAPPY3 three-wheeled scooter/personal transporter was the big hit! People loved the mobility, looks and fun. Right behind it was the ZAP DUDE electric ATV. In fact, there was a line in the booth for people who wanted to get their photo on them. We definitely scored some major interest in distributing these to many parts of the world. The SUV taxi was not too far behind with people from major automotive suppliers returning to the booth numerous times to show their colleagues. Some inquired about setting up a taxi service in their municipalities, in China, Russia and the EU. It was also a pleasure to welcome the highest level management of ZAP Jonway to the booth: Board Chair, Priscilla M. Lu, Ph.D., as well as ZAP Jonway Co-CEOs Alex Wang and Steve Schneider who attended several business meetings while in Shenzhen.
Thumbs up for ZAP Jonway at EVS-25
ZAP Jonway EVS-25 Slide Show – Click Here
We learned a pretty important fact attending some of the presentations at EVS-25 in Shenzhen. China now leads the world in EV government subsidies, with 3,000 yuan per kWh of battery capacity, up to 60,000 yuan per car!! Plus, there are some local governments such as Shanghai and Shenzhen offering an additional 40,000 yuan — that’s 100,000 or about $15,000!! J.D. Power projects that soon 2% of all cars in China to be electric.
There was a great deal of anticipation for the third day of EVS-25 because the Chinese regional delegations would be visiting. Throughout the morning we fielded questions, testing our Chinese language abilities. Again the electric SUV/Taxi played a key role, attracting interest for fleet use as well as taxi use in parts of China. Also there was a great deal of industrial interest for parts and component supply relationships with markets as diverse as Mexico and Hong Kong. It was helpful when ZAP founder Gary Starr showed up to help with many of the technical questions. Have H. David Jones, ZAP’s COO helped respond the growing wave of interest. The general public came in the afternoon, further increasing interest in the ZAPPY3. Also interest in the ZAP DUDE electric ATV from many of the factory workers we met. With interested buyers, we had to continually stress the importance of distribution, service, parts and warranty for expanding the supply and distribution chain, but many still wanted to buy vehicles right on the spot. One woman bought a ZAPPY3 scooter, wanting to make sure she got one with a seat. Later we met some electric vehicle enthusiasts from Europe, some of them inquiring about our fleet XL trucks and Shuttle vans.
ZAP Jonway CEO Joins Bay Area Council to Strengthen Regional Ties with China
SANTA ROSA, Calif. (September 3, 2010) – Steven Schneider, Chief Executive Officer for ZAP Jonway (OTC BB: ZAAP), is the newest member of the Bay Area Council and will provide strategic support in electric vehicles and other key areas that can help strengthen the region’s economic ties with China.
Steve Schneider, CEO of auto and EV maker ZAP Jonway, has joined the Bay Area Council to provide his business expertise on China.
ZAP Jonway is a new US-China automotive venture. Northern California’s publicly owned ZAP signed an acquisition agreement with Zhejiang Jonway Automobile Co. Ltd. for a 51 percent stake in the China automobile manufacturing company. Schneider and ZAP Jonway plan to host a trade mission from the Bay Area Council on Saturday, September 11, 2010 at the ZAP Jonway manufacturing facility in Hangzhou, China. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is expected to participate in the trade mission.
“Electric vehicles represent a key challenge and opportunity for the US and China,” said Schneider. “By collaborating through the Bay Area Council, we can ensure the success of electric transportation as a green initiative while strengthening our friendship with China’s growing auto industry.”
The Bay Area Council is a member organization comprised of CEOs and business leaders committed to ensuring the Bay Area’s future in innovative, competitiveness and sustainability. They do this by developing an ambitious vision for the region’s future with participation of business, government, labor, science and education. Results are achieved through advocacy and committed leadership to realize this vision.
The Bay Area Council (http://www.bayareacouncil.org) opened an office in June 2010 in the Yangpu District of Shanghai to help Bay Area businesses expand into the Chinese market, while working to attract Chinese businesses and investment here. The Bay Area Council has also held major conferences in China on venture capital and green technology while hosting and sending senior delegations to China.
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, continued acceptance of ZAP’s products, increased levels of competition, new products and technological changes, ZAP’s dependence upon third-party suppliers, intellectual property rights and other risks detailed from time to time in the ZAP’s periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
# # #
Contact:
Alex Campbell, ZAP
+1-707-525-8658 x 241
acampbell@zapworld.com
Bay Area Council
Joe Arellano, VP Communications
+1-415-946-8725
jarellano@bayareacouncil.org
Earth2Tech’s Green Overdrive Visits ZAP Electric Vehicles
Al Unser Jr. being interviewed at ZAP by Earth2Tech
A video production team from Earth2Tech Media’s Green Overdrive came out to ZAP on Monday to test drive our latest vehicles and meet ZAP Alias XPRIZE driver Al Unser Junior. Katie Fehrenbacher and Chris Albrecht also caught up with ZAP CEO Steve Schneider and Founder Gary Starr.
Fehrenbacher acknowledged that ZAP is one of the oldest electric vehicle companies out there and asked Starr about ZAP’s initial approach. Starr said ZAP started in 1994 by focusing on affordable electric vehicles, introducing electric bicycles, scooters, ATVs, trucks, then eventually cars. During the segment Fehrenbacher has some fun on ZAP’s smallest EV, the wheel motor driven ZAPPY3 electric scooter.
ZAP also presented its new project with China’s Jonway Auto, an all electric SUV project launched a year ago. Fehrenbacher brought up ZAP’s recent acquisition agreement to acquire a majority share in Jonway Auto with the right to acquire the rest by next year. They went for a drive at freeway speeds in the ZAP Jonway all electric A380, a test drive eerily reminiscent of a video taken in December 2009. Fehrenbacher asked how fast the electric SUV goes and ZAP engineer Joe Rajakaruna pointed out that they have never focused on top speeds, because for ZAP’s target market the focus is to comfortably travel freeway speeds, and indeed at minute 2:30 in the video Fehrenbacher estimates they easily reach 60 MPH. The ZAP Jonway electric A380 is the official electric vehicle of the U.S. Pavilion at the World Fair in Shanghai.
Steve Schneider
Later Fehrenbacher caught up with CEO Steve Schneider, touching on media reports critical of ZAP’s “failures” in delivering electric vehicles, a question that completely ignores the fact that ZAP has delivered over 117,000 of a broad range of electric vehicles from bikes, to scooters, to trucks.
Q: Katie Fehrenbacher: You talk a little bit about being misconstrued as a marketing company and a little bit about some of ZAP’s failures – SS: Mis-categorized — in being able to scale up manufacturing wise and I think there’s been a variety of dates missed on commercial productions that’s been widely reported…”
A: Steve Schneider: And I don’t think if you looked at any other auto manufacturer that is introducing a vehicle, that the dates that we targeted, (and we’re not a manufacturer; we had the contracts but we had third parties to deal with besides ourselves, but I don’t think you could come up with a manufacturer that hasn’t come out with a product that has missed their target date and had control of their manufacturing), we never had control of our manufacturing, so we always gave the target dates that our contract manufacturers had given to us. And so, because of those things and missing those target dates, we focused very heavily in the last 18 months to have our own manufacturing capacity so that we can control that. We still might miss a target date like everyone else, but at least we’re in control of it, we were not in control of it before.
Despite the inquiry on ZAP’s ability to deliver electric vehicles, there is no mention in Green Overdrive’s video of its most popular EV currently, the ZAP XL electric truck. ZAP recently sold a small fleet of electric trucks to the City of Riverside. Likewise, there was no mention of ZAP’s engineering contract with the U.S. Postal Service to convert one of its Long Life Vehicles to run on electricity. Obviously there is much more going on at ZAP than you can cover in a 5 minute video. You can watch a 30 minute tour of ZAP by Steve Schneider on YouTube that covers the XL truck and USPS contract.
Al Unser Jr. with the ZAP Alias electric car
Finally, Fehrenbacher interviewed Al Unser Jr., two-time winner of the Indy 500 and co-driver for the ZAP Alias team entered in the Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE.
Katie Fehrenbacher: So you’re doing this partly for environmental reasons, becoming a do-gooder after a lifetime of driving race cars.
Al Unser Jr.: I’m doing this mainly to develop the automobile in the area of alternative fuels and getting away from the addiction to the petroleum products.
KF: What do you think of it compared to a gas based car?
AU: I loved it , the major difference first and foremost is how quiet it is; there’s just no sound coming out of it. And it’s instant power, I noticed that the torque is very high on it, when you drive the car, it drives just like a regular car, except again for how quiet it is, it’s just super quiet.
KF: You think that’s a good thing, you don’t miss the big, booming engines?
AU: Not at all.
Learn more about the ZAP Alias Team entered in the Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE on their Team Blog.
See more at Earth2Tech’s Green Overdrive.
Tennessee Solar Carport Plugs ZAP Electric Truck
A ZAP XL electric truck was on hand for the opening of a new solar parking facility.
Parking lots are going solar all over the world, but the first one in the Southeastern United States was dedicated this week in the EV-friendly state of Tennessee with the help of a ZAP XL electric truck.
Solar Parking Structure in TN
Pulaski, Tennessee dedicated its first parking area solar array with integrated electric vehicle (EV) charging capacity capable of generating over 20kW of electricity. Congressman Lincoln Davis did the honors of switching on the array, sending the sun’s energy into the grid. Located at Richland, LLC in Pulaski, Tenn., this solar array represents the first step in a growing EV charging network. The parking array produces enough energy to run nearly four typical American homes and is an integral part to the success of EVs.
Organizers had the ZAP XL electric truck on hand to demonstrate the solar charging station and give test rides. ZAP has sold several hundred electric trucks to the U.S. Government, U.S. Army, Park Services, Universities, Hospitals, Municipalities, Corporations, Small Businesses and individuals. You can even order your XL truck with a solar panel.
The project was made possible with cooperation of the State of Tennessee, the USDA, Pulaski Electric System and Tennessee Valley Authority.
Click Image for WSMV News Story
ZAP Electric Truck Delivering Ice at the Air Show
It’s 100 degrees out at the annual air show this past Sunday. I’m walking around dying from thirst and all the lines for refreshments are prohibitively long, when I notice this red pickup truck pulling up to a vendor that seems shut down.
It’s the ZAP Xebra electric truck filled with ice and they proceed to unload a couple of ice chests and the vendor is back in business. Luckily I had my iPhone and snapped this quick video. Then I had an ice cold water!
It’s always a treat to be out and about and find someone using a ZAP electric vehicle that you didn’t expect. All throughout the show I noticed a wide variety of different vehicles at work. Some of the golf carts used by management were electric, but there were also several annoyingly loud and smelly gas utility vehicles delivering supplies or collecting garbage that in my humble opinion should not be used at events where there are large gatherings of people. They sound like tractors and you can’t hear when they drive by leaving behind a cloud of exhaust. I was almost thinking this when suddenly the ZAP truck appeared!
This is a great move by the vendors at the Air Show. Electric trucks like this are now available, larger and with many more options. Hopefully more event organizers will realize how much better they are for airports, air shows and large events.
If you ever get a chance, visit the Pacific Coast Air Museum. They organize the annual Wings Over the Wine Country, Sonoma County’s annual Air Show every August at the Charles M. Schulz Sonoma County International Airport (STS). It really is a blast, but wear plenty of sunscreen and show up early to park your folding chair under a vacant airplane wing and you will be in for a great show.
And to whomever decided to use the ZAP truck to deliver ice… I owe you a cold one!
Army of One Makes Electric Truck Fleet a Reality
April 20, 2010 – The U.S. Army this Earth Day gave out its highest individual environmental award to the person responsible for deploying ZAP trucks on a military base in Korea, Environmental Chief Robert J. Chartier.
Mr. Robert J. Chartier, the former environmental division chief at the Army's Daegu Korea installation, captured the individual award in the environmental quality category of the FY 2009 Secretary of the Army Environmental Awards Program. Chartier competed with teams and individuals from across the Army for this honor and was the only individual Army environmental award winner this year.
According to a press release, “Mr. Robert Chartier captured the individual award in the environmental quality category of the FY2009 Secretary of the Army Environmental Awards Program… Chartier competed with teams and individuals from across the Army for this honor; the only individual Army award bestowed this year.”
Other military bases have followed Chartier’s example with electric truck purchases of their own. Fleet operators like the greater payload and save hundreds of dollars a week by using the energy efficient trucks for jobs in which a larger gas truck isn’t needed. Several large EV fleet operators have acquired ZAP electric trucks and vans in the past year.
Designs for an all-electric SUV in partnership with Jonway Auto of China are now available in China for government, corporate and taxi fleets. ZAP is in talks with distribution partners in places like Korea to further expand distribution in Asia.
Chartier did much more than implement electric vehicle technology, he created a multifaceted plan that included community outreach, environmental awareness events, such as the Earth Day 5K, tree planting, environmental displays at the Armed Forces Day Open house, developing the first International Organization of Standardization 14001 environmental management system for an overseas base, an improved waste and recycling program, and a wetland restoration project at Camp Carroll in Daegu. Read below and follow the links to learn more about the amazing accomplishments of Robert J. Chartier. Thank you, Chief!
Press Release from U.S. Army Environmental Command:
U.S. Army Environmental Quality Award Nomination Pictures ZAP Electric Truck
Chartier was recognized for his superb management of all environmental program areas for the Daegu garrison. “It’s always an honor to be recognized, especially at this level; however, many of these achievements would never have been possible had it not been for the outstanding support I received from my entire environmental staff and the Daegu garrison leadership who supported my vision for the direction of the environmental program.
From Award Nomination: “Mr. Chartier conducted research with the garrison Directorate of Logistics and received approval from the command to purchase a small fleet of Zero Air Pollution (ZAP) electric trucks to help the command meet its fleet vehicle managemetn goal. The ZAP electric truck, a small pickup truck used on USAG Daegu, performs better than the Neighborhood Electric Vehicles issued to installations in the continental U.S. The installation purchased five trucks, providing them to the Fire Inspector, Department of Public Works, Environemtnal Division and the Safety Office. These replaced the gasoline-fueled non-tactical vehicles currently in use.”
From recycling to wetland restoration to electric vehicles, Chartier’s vision was felt throughout the garrison, and even outside the gates.
Below is a video of our XL truck, similar to the ones now being used in Korea.
ZAP Delivers Fleet of Electric Trucks
Mayor Ron Loveridge accepts keys to one of the new electric vehicles purchased from Ramon Alvarez, owner of Alvarez ZAP.
New Dealership Alvarez ZAP Makes Sale to City of Riverside
SANTA ROSA, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Electric vehicle pioneer ZAP (OTCBB:ZAAP – News) today announced that its newest dealer, Alvarez ZAP, has opened in Riverside, California and will be serving commercial and government markets throughout the entire Inland Empire.
Alvarez ZAP has delivered its first shipment of six electric trucks to the City of Riverside during a Grand Opening press conference last week. While accepting keys to one of the vehicles, Riverside Mayor Ron Loveridge said, “Today we take another step forward in the greening of Riverside by transitioning from gas to electrically operated vehicles. We are proud to add ZAP trucks to our fleet.”
Dealer president, Ramon Alvarez is widely recognized as one of the leading Hispanic entrepreneurs in the Inland Empire through his long time affiliation with Lincoln, Mercury and Jaguar. Also attending the Grand Opening were six City Councils members and the City Manager as well as Joel Ayala representing the Governors’ office of Economic Development.
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed Alvarez to the New Motor Vehicle Board in March 2007 and Alvarez is now a Vice President of that organization. He stated, “As a member of the New Motor Vehicle Board, I have seen the evolution of alternative energy vehicles to the point where they are moving into the automotive mainstream and I believe ZAP represents the best opportunity to capitalize on that trend.”
Commenting on Alvarez’s decision to become the newest ZAP electric vehicle dealer, ZAP CEO Steven Schneider said, “Ramon has passion and understanding…he genuinely gets it. He knows the importance that new energy vehicles play today and in the marketplace of tomorrow.”
About ZAP
ZAP is one of the world’s oldest and most experienced electric vehicle providers, having delivered over 117,000 of a broad range of vehicles to more than 75 countries since 1994. ZAP supplies electric trucks and vans to military, government and corporate fleets and is an innovator of electric motorcycles, scooters and ATVs. The Santa Rosa, California based company offers some of the only electric city-speed cars and trucks in production today and is leveraging its accrued technology know-how in developing a cost effective high-speed electric car called the ZAP Alias. Further news and information is available at https://zapglobal.wordpress.com.
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, continued acceptance of ZAP’s products, increased levels of competition, new products and technological changes, ZAP’s dependence upon third-party suppliers, intellectual property rights and other risks detailed from time to time in the ZAP’s periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
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Contact:
ZAP Alex Campbell, +1-707-525-8658 ext. 241 Corporate Communications acampbell@zapworld.com or Pat Meier Associates Public Relations, for ZAP Pat Meier-Johnson, 415-389-1700 patmeier@patmeier.com
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