ZAP Jonway Plans Limited Edition of ALIAS for Production Fourth Quarter 2012

SANTA ROSA, Calif., Dec. 16, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — ZAP Jonway (OTCBB:ZAAP.OB), a designer and manufacturer of new energy and electric vehicles (EVs), plans production of the ALIAS, ZAP’s highly anticipated sports EV, in the fourth quarter of 2012.

This limited edition production is now planned due to popular demand. It will showcase the engineering excellence of the ZAP Jonway’s EV power train and design. This 3-wheel version of the Alias is designed to be highway safety compliant and yet be able to expedite the long type approval testing process for entering into the U.S. market. Designed with decades of electric and automotive experience, the ALIAS serves a growing niche of automotive enthusiasts who want an affordable electric vehicle with the performance, looks and handling of an impressive sports car. The vehicle has a peak torque of over 200 kilowatts and range of 150 miles between charges. With one of the best engineered EV motors available supplied by Remy Motors, compact and light weight, the vehicle’s performance, handling and ride is competitive with traditional Tier One sports vehicles. ==> Continued Click Here

ZAP Jonway Announces its First Quarter 2011 Consolidated Results following Completion of the Acquisition of 51% of Jonway Automobile

SANTA ROSA, California (May 23, 2011) — ZAP Jonway (OTC BB: ZAAP) recently filed its Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended March 31, 2011, which included consolidated financial results for the first time taking into account ZAP’s acquisition of 51% of the equity shares of Zhejiang Jonway Automobile Co. Ltd., or Jonway Automobile, located in Sanmen, Zhejiang, China, in January 2011. We refer to this transaction as the Jonway Acquisition.  The Jonway Acquisition was the result of a yearlong effort by both parties.  Jonway Automobile is an ISO 9000 production-ready automobile manufacturer in China with facilities that were installed in 2009. Through the Jonway Acquisition, ZAP has been able to gain access to a cost-competitive production team in China with manufacturing expertise and access to China’s growing

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.

POLL: Do electric cars have a long road to mainstream status?

ZAP CEO Steve Schneider

Respond to our poll about the near-term success of electric cars.  The San Francisco Chronicle published an article on May 25, 2010, in which ZAP CEO Steve Schneider put forth this opinion:

GM added the onboard charging engine to allay “range anxiety,” to use the industry term for buyers’ concerns of running out of battery power during a trip.

Because of such worries, electric vehicles may be most practical for now in situations where drivers follow fixed routes, like delivery trucks and taxis, said Steve Schneider, chief executive of Zap, an electric car company based in Santa Rosa.

“The biggest target market for all automakers is the consumer market, but I don’t think the technology is mature enough for that,” said Schneider, who is still focused on fixed-route niches.

— Read more at SFGate.com