SANTA ROSA, Calif., Dec. 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- ZAP (BULLETIN BOARD: ZAPZ) , the California Company working to sell legal U.S. imports of the Smart Car from Europe, announced today that eBay suspended the auction on Wednesday morning December 15 at around 8:30 AM Pacific Standard Time.
"Due to the high profile of this auction, an eBay spokesperson informed us that they would like to see the Americanization of the car completed before allowing it to be sold," said ZAP CEO Steve Schneider.
"Competitors are attempting to sell cars on eBay that do not meet federal regulatory compliance and we want to ensure that every step we take meets the highest standards for the protection of consumers, vendors and shareholders. The conversion of all of our Smart cars in inventory will soon be completed and we fully intend to work with eBay on completing the auction in accordance with their policies," said Schneider.
Within hours of being listed on eBay two weeks ago, bidders pushed the price of the popular European microcar above $27,000. ZAP's listing of the Smart Car pushed eBay's page view counters to over 20,000 over the past ten days. Schneider says that hundreds of people put the Smart Car on their eBay Watch List. Meanwhile, over 8,000 people have visited ZAP's website to register their intent to purchase a Smart car. Schneider says this is a testimonial to the demand for the car in the United States. ZAP has received $2.98 million in purchase orders since it announced the car had received a letter of conformity from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
"We wanted to get a car on eBay right away with 'no reserve pricing,' or no minimum bid, to evaluate the demand and price point for the car. At $27,000 for a 2003 model year SMARTCAR, it shows us that our proposed pricing structure is currently below the market demand," said Schneider. "There is not a better place than eBay to establish the market value for any new product."
"ZAP is a Company with a pioneer spirit in the auto industry and by definition most of what we do is a first for this industry. Naturally this brings us into areas where there is often very little precedence and it takes time for the conventional industry to understand our vision and ambitions. But we enjoy being ahead of the curve and as someone who has worked in the auto industry for more than 25 years, I can say that I love what I do; now every morning I can't wait to get out of bed and get to work because I feel ZAP has such an exciting opportunity to build a new car company that can help lead the industry towards more fuel-efficient and socially responsible technologies."
ZAP made international news on Wednesday after reporting that it has placed a purchase order with fuel cell maker Anuvu of Sacramento, California. Anuvu believes ZAP's order to be the largest purchase of PEM fuel cell engines in history.
About ZAP
ZAP has been a leader in clean transportation technologies since 1994, delivering more than 85,000 vehicles to customers in more than 60 countries. A public company, ZAP is traded on the Over-the-Counter stock exchange under the symbol ZAPZ. The company offers a variety of advanced technology vehicles, including electric cars, bicycles, scooters, motorbikes, underwater scooters and more. For more information, visit http://www.zapworld.com/ or call 707-525-8658. ZAP is not affiliated with, or authorized by, smart gmbh, the manufacturer of SMART automobiles, or the smartUSA division of Mercedes-Benz LLC, the exclusive authorized U.S. importer and distributor of those vehicles. ZAP purchases its vehicles from non-affiliated direct importer Smart-Auto LLC.
Forward-looking statements in this release are made pursuant to the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Investors are cautioned that such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, continued acceptance of the Company's products, increased levels of competition for the Company, new products and technological changes, the Company's dependence upon third-party suppliers, intellectual property rights, and other risks detailed from time to time in the Company's periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
ZAP
"Due to the high profile of this auction, an eBay spokesperson informed us that they would like to see the Americanization of the car completed before allowing it to be sold," said ZAP CEO Steve Schneider.
"Competitors are attempting to sell cars on eBay that do not meet federal regulatory compliance and we want to ensure that every step we take meets the highest standards for the protection of consumers, vendors and shareholders. The conversion of all of our Smart cars in inventory will soon be completed and we fully intend to work with eBay on completing the auction in accordance with their policies," said Schneider.
Within hours of being listed on eBay two weeks ago, bidders pushed the price of the popular European microcar above $27,000. ZAP's listing of the Smart Car pushed eBay's page view counters to over 20,000 over the past ten days. Schneider says that hundreds of people put the Smart Car on their eBay Watch List. Meanwhile, over 8,000 people have visited ZAP's website to register their intent to purchase a Smart car. Schneider says this is a testimonial to the demand for the car in the United States. ZAP has received $2.98 million in purchase orders since it announced the car had received a letter of conformity from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
"We wanted to get a car on eBay right away with 'no reserve pricing,' or no minimum bid, to evaluate the demand and price point for the car. At $27,000 for a 2003 model year SMARTCAR, it shows us that our proposed pricing structure is currently below the market demand," said Schneider. "There is not a better place than eBay to establish the market value for any new product."
"ZAP is a Company with a pioneer spirit in the auto industry and by definition most of what we do is a first for this industry. Naturally this brings us into areas where there is often very little precedence and it takes time for the conventional industry to understand our vision and ambitions. But we enjoy being ahead of the curve and as someone who has worked in the auto industry for more than 25 years, I can say that I love what I do; now every morning I can't wait to get out of bed and get to work because I feel ZAP has such an exciting opportunity to build a new car company that can help lead the industry towards more fuel-efficient and socially responsible technologies."
ZAP made international news on Wednesday after reporting that it has placed a purchase order with fuel cell maker Anuvu of Sacramento, California. Anuvu believes ZAP's order to be the largest purchase of PEM fuel cell engines in history.
About ZAP
ZAP has been a leader in clean transportation technologies since 1994, delivering more than 85,000 vehicles to customers in more than 60 countries. A public company, ZAP is traded on the Over-the-Counter stock exchange under the symbol ZAPZ. The company offers a variety of advanced technology vehicles, including electric cars, bicycles, scooters, motorbikes, underwater scooters and more. For more information, visit http://www.zapworld.com/ or call 707-525-8658. ZAP is not affiliated with, or authorized by, smart gmbh, the manufacturer of SMART automobiles, or the smartUSA division of Mercedes-Benz LLC, the exclusive authorized U.S. importer and distributor of those vehicles. ZAP purchases its vehicles from non-affiliated direct importer Smart-Auto LLC.
Forward-looking statements in this release are made pursuant to the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Investors are cautioned that such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, continued acceptance of the Company's products, increased levels of competition for the Company, new products and technological changes, the Company's dependence upon third-party suppliers, intellectual property rights, and other risks detailed from time to time in the Company's periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
ZAP
© 2004 PR Newswire
