ZAP zips Smart car sales up to a record month
On Tuesday, ZAP, makers of the micro Smart Cars (not to be confused with the smart cars by
DaimlerChrysler) posted sales totaling $2.3 million since inception according to the company. Said Steve Schneider, ZAP
CEO, "The purpose of this announcement is to let the world know that we are executing on our business plan."
The 2005 Smart Car can be found in the U.S. states of Arizona, Florida, New Hampshire, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Washington. Other news on ZAP, such as its Obvio! (pictured) and Xebra micro vehicles, can be found here and here on Autoblog.
[Source: PR Newswire via Automotive.com]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
triplight 1:10PM (3/30/2006)
Although they have several cars, their website states that their "Smart Car" is in fact a U.S.-compliant version of the DC Smart Car:
http://www.zapworld.com/cars/smartCar.asp
Reply
ANR 1:47PM (3/30/2006)
@triplight
Heh, I took a look at their website and went to the "Cars for Sale" tab. They list a "1987 Nissan Pickup", however, the picture they show is not a Hardbody. I can understand if the truck has been modified for electric power (and it took a while), but they should at least advertise the year of the chassis/body, not when it was sold. The latest that truck can be is an early 1986 (the first Hardbody was a 1986.5 model year).
Reply
John P. Hedin 12:19PM (4/14/2006)
I was at their RI location in Santa Ana last week where I saw several hundred cars in the process of conversion. It takes 2 1/2 weeks to make the cars US compliant. They even have to add projector beam type headlights. To buy these cars from wholesalers in Europe, ship them here and then convert and distribute them to their network of used car dealers is very expensive. I have never believed that ZAP had 2 BILLION dollars worth of smart forTwo orders -equal to more than 75,000 cars. I am sure they could sell a few thousand cars per year in the USA-but I would consider the car to be a curiosity rather than a cost effective mode of transport
Reply