Filed under: EV/Plug-in, AutoblogGreen Exclusive, Zap
Who wasn't impressed with Zap back in April when they announced a $79 million order for their electric vehicles? It was great news, but the more we thought about it, the more it seems fishy.
We often take Zap a little less seriously than other companies because, while we certainly can't deny the existence of their Xebra three-wheeled cars or their cool electric scooters, all Zap products that aspire to be anything more than a niche vehicle have - so far - been nothing more than a series of press releases and some computer-rendered images. Today, we're going to take you on a ride deep into Zap territory, and things might get ugly. Buckle up.
Last weekend, the San Jose Mercury News ran a story by Matt Nauman about a "Green automaker ready to climb out of red." The subject was Zap, and the upshot of the story was that, thanks to that $79 million dollar order, Zap was ready to stop losing so much money (it's gone bankrupt once before) and is just about to turn the corner and become a real player in the electric vehicle business.
Zap CEO Steve Schneider played the part of the excited green entrepreneur for Nauman, saying, "We haven't really been profitable ever, but we've never been where we can actually execute up to now. The demand has become crazy."
Oh, really?
Let's investigate after the jump.
Who wasn't impressed with Zap back in April when they announced a $79 million order for their electric vehicles? It was great news, but the more we thought about it, the more it seems fishy.
We often take Zap a little less seriously than other companies because, while we certainly can't deny the existence of their Xebra three-wheeled cars or their cool electric scooters, all Zap products that aspire to be anything more than a niche vehicle have - so far - been nothing more than a series of press releases and some computer-rendered images. Today, we're going to take you on a ride deep into Zap territory, and things might get ugly. Buckle up.
Last weekend, the San Jose Mercury News ran a story by Matt Nauman about a "Green automaker ready to climb out of red." The subject was Zap, and the upshot of the story was that, thanks to that $79 million dollar order, Zap was ready to stop losing so much money (it's gone bankrupt once before) and is just about to turn the corner and become a real player in the electric vehicle business.
Zap CEO Steve Schneider played the part of the excited green entrepreneur for Nauman, saying, "We haven't really been profitable ever, but we've never been where we can actually execute up to now. The demand has become crazy."
Oh, really?
Let's investigate after the jump.
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