Zotye electric SUV: $20,000, highway speed, 100-mile range and just 60 DAYS AWAY!
I was watching a new report about Arkansas' first electric car dealership, Electric Transportation of Arkansas (you can see it for yourself below the fold). Electric car dealerships that sell low speed electric vehicles you can legally drive around most neighborhoods aren't anything new in the U.S. I was almost not going to write about it ... until the newscaster says the ETA will sell a highway-speed electric SUV for $20,000 with 100-mile range!
The ETA site just has a pdf about the car but the Spark EV site says the SUV, called Zotye, is talking orders RIGHT NOW for delivery in just 60 DAYS. Even more unbelievable is that the Spark EV site says a "fuel cell" upgrade will be available this August. I looked for more information and only found another similar, recent news report about Electric Transportation of Arkansas and Zotye. The company that makes Zotye is apparently Chinese and got clearance to go on the highway.
If anyone knows anything else, please post it in comments or see our contact page. We're quite interested in anything you have on this one! If it's actually released, the Zotye will be a very important first.
Gallery: Zotye
[Source: Spark EV tipster tim mcleod]
Reader Comments (Page 2 of 2)
Spark-EV 4:01PM (2/05/2008)
I agree! I say we take the bastard out behind the shed & beat him with sticks!
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Stins 4:12PM (2/05/2008)
Came across this thread about the Zotye:
http://www.evdl.org/archive/index.html#nabble-td14886219s25542
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drivin98 6:33PM (2/05/2008)
If you put ""Michael Papp" scam" in google you get 154 results. I personally would be extra cautious about handing this guy a deposit.
I hope you are extra thorough on any follow up story, Lascelles.
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Lascelles Linton 6:52PM (2/05/2008)
Drivin98, They are the company behind the Flybo, which is on the market. There are a lot of failures and scams in the EV market but this company has released and says they are releasing cars. It's right to be cautious but there are many reports from local papers and TV station of the dealerships that make me think they exist. I believe this company is delivery cars and will. The posts I have seen critical don't point to anything directly.
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rob 8:04PM (2/05/2008)
"I won't even buy a power drill that is made in China, much less a $20k car."
In that case I'd suggest not checking where your computer, DVD player, TV, and lots of parts on your car are made then.
(I'm pretty sure my last set of brake rotors were stamped "Made in India" -- so far I haven't died...)
Still and all, for a small SUV-ish shaped vehicle, we're talking probably 300Wh/mile. That's a honking big battery for that price. Color me skeptical.
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drivin98 8:11PM (2/05/2008)
Are they behind the Fly-Bo? I know he claims to be but what about this article by Sam last year? http://www.autobloggreen.com/2007/03/23/chinese-electric-smart-clone-coming-to-the-us-market/
This Fly-bo is produced by Shandong Huoyun Electromobile Co.. Maybe you could call up Dave LaTarte (http://www.autobloggreen.com/2008/01/06/2008-model-of-flybo-electric-car-will-include-heater/) and ask him where he got his FlyBos.
continued...
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drivin98 8:12PM (2/05/2008)
And how about the diesel trucks Mr.Papp claims to import? http://www.wuzheng.com/ Find any reviews of these online? http://www.alibaba.com/company/10194975.html
The Alibaba entry says he has a factory in Philadelphia and sales of $5-$10 million... and so on and so on.
I don't know the true story, I'm just suggesting that you be extra thorough.
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sai sankar 5:22PM (2/07/2008)
I am an engineer working for a company that converts full-size american vehicles to EVs and PHEVs.
I dont really believe the Zoyte has a chance of becoming a winner. The frame integrity of the Daihatsu Terios was rather questionable from the beginning and the Zoyte is a cheap re-make. To pull this off will require a true game-changer from the Chinese company. Who knows? Might put us and GM and everyone else out of business. I am never dismissive about new entrants. I feel our lessons with the growth of the Japanese manufacturers in North America have taught us to think twice.
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Spark-EV 9:18PM (2/05/2008)
...But really BIG sticks. With nails & barbed wire......
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virgil 9:41AM (2/06/2008)
Doesn't matter how they do it - i.e. importing a gas car and converting it.... if the original gas car doesn't meet crash standards (I doubt it given that its not available for sale), then the whole thing is a non-starter.
I truly believe the ONLY viable option for a highway-speed, long range, crash-tested, cheap EV in the USA will be when someone cuts a deal with a major auto-maker who already has done all the grunt-work, and converts a FOR-SALE-TODAY gas-engined car (kinda like those scion xB conversions). Anyone trying to do this from scratch with a non-US-crash-certified vehicle will get bogged down in litigation. Just look at how long it took them to get the smart car over here!
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Lascelles Linton 9:27PM (2/06/2008)
Spark EV recently started a forum. You can get direct responses to your questions there. Here is the URL...
http://www.spark-ev.com/index.php
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Jack 12:17PM (2/07/2008)
Reminds me of the whole Corbin Sparrow deal. I buy one of these when it meets all of the Federal DOT requirements and have been evaluated by those in the real EV community.
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Jason 2:21PM (2/10/2008)
I think this Arkansas dealship knows nothing about importing cars, but if they can pull it off at $20K for an electric SUV I'd buy one if it seamed like it had some quality...
Remember what can make this possible
$1 / day wages in china
Falsely valued Chinese currancy (makes their products 30% cheaper than they should be)
No benifits for their employees
Major Chinese government subsides so they can take more of our money.
So this can very easily be a $30,000 / electric SUV that we may be able to get for $20K if they can pull off importing it, but we should consider also how we screw our courtry and ourselves over when we choose chinese products, due to the unequal playing field. If we keep choosing chinese products and services eventually it is inevitiable that our country will be run like china in order to stay competitive and out of poverty, so after finishing this paragraph I change my mind, I won't buy it.
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tim donahue 12:27AM (2/25/2008)
hi,, i have been in contact with the company that converts the zotye to electric,, they have to remove the engine,, they quoted me an fob price of under 10k for the airconditioned option,,, which reduces the range by 35%... with a cost of under 2k to deliver it to your door,,, why the 20k price tag? it was my understanding that it had not passed the fmvss500 test yet.. he would have to stick it in 3rd gear to achieve the 25mph limit on nev's... he also mentioned something about the lights..i told him to leave it a 5 speed and limit it by the speedometer,,, let the customer decide if he wanted to disable the limit switch,,,
i would be happy to cooperate with any and all people here to get it into your hands for a modest fee,, i have been in touch with a lab in carson nevada that does the test,,, they can do the test in china,,,
i am not aware of any crash testing but i could be wrong,,,, if it is crash tested you could just import it with the engine assuming it is epa approved..
lets bring this car in and start the wave,,,,,
i am leaving my phone number,,, please feel free to contact me,, (after 9 am mountain time please)
1 208 520 8479
thank you
tim donahue
mdmtim@yahoo.com
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robert beechler 7:49PM (3/04/2008)
Hello, Zotye Electrics. I am looking for a company that I can share my invention with. I'm trying to market this invention and if you are interested in this device, it can make any 100% electric car get endless miles without ever stopping to charge batteries. The batteries are always charging and it does not run on fossil fuels or give off emissions. Please contact if interested.
Thank you.
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ETA 12:47PM (4/04/2008)
http://www.etarkansas.com/uploads/Press_Release_040108.pdf
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MiX 12:46AM (8/04/2009)
First of all, I think the splash this is making in the US (if at all) is purely coincidental. The main market for Zoyte is here in China. They announced the sale of their first EV here a week ago to (gasp) a local electricity Utility. They claimed 250km range on a charge and 20 min/80% charge, along with a battery pack good for 8 years. Now I know these numbers seem streched - look at the time story about Nissan Leaf (160 km range, 30m/80% charge), but who am I to say. Maybe the shorter battery life is because they just have to juice it up so fast (20 min sounds acceptable to me).
Also, local price was 110k RMB, 16k+ USD, so a bit lower than the announced US price. But like I said, Zoyte is doing this for homeland and with the explicit blessing of the local commie govt. I don't think they care too much (at this point) what happens to their first EV in the US. Personally, I'd wait for 2nd gen from a more respectable producer, but all in all, it sounds very not bad, as the locals say.
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