Apparently even the limited safety requirements applied by the U.S. government to vehicles classified as motorcycles were a bit too much for Zap Xebra. The Chinese-built electric vehicles are classed as motorcycles because they only have three wheels, which means they are not subject to crash safety standards. However, motorcycles still have to meet minimum braking performance requirements according to federal motor vehicle safety standard 122. Xebra's built during 2008 have failed to meet that requirement in testing and are being recalled for a fix. According to NHTSA, 738 vehicles are involved in the recall, but no fix has yet been identified by Zap or the manufacturer, Qingqi Group Motorcycle Co., LTD. Fortunately, the Xebra only has a top speed of 40 mph and most of these electric vehicles are used for duties like parking enforcement and as utility vehicles around campuses. We've contacted Zap for a comment on the situation but have yet to get a reply.

[Source: NHTSA]