Canadian Electric Car Company Zenn Motors Abandons Vehicle Plans

Canadian electric car start-up Zenn Motor Company Inc has announced that it no longer has any plans to produce a vehicle. Instead it will focus on its key electric drive technology , the ZENNenrgyTM drive. There is a big difference between designing and prototyping an electric car ( or any car for that matter) and being able to produce a consistently quality vehicle in sufficient quantities to be profitable. That difference is largely time and capital expenditure  even for a company that all ready has the manufacturing infrastructure and expertise in-house. I think that we will be hearing more of these types of  announcements from electric car start-up companies in the months and years to come. Here is the press release:

Electric ZENN Motor Company Inc. (“ZMC” or the “Company”) (TSX VENTURE:ZNN), a leading developer of zero emission transportation solutions and technologies, wishes to update its stakeholders regarding its business strategy and focus.

The Company reaffirmed today that its primary market strategy for highway capable transportation will be through broad distribution of its ZENNergyTM drive, an electric drive-train solution, powered by EEStor and integrating third party and proprietary technologies being developed by the Company. The previously announced cityZENN highway capable electric vehicle will not be developed into a standalone commercially available offering. Management believes that this refinement to the Company’s business strategy and focus provides for the most efficient allocation of Company resources to maximize future profit potential.

“Integration of the ZENNergyTM drive in OEM vehicles has always been our long term objective. The advancement of the development of EEStor’s technology, combined with the industry’s increased focus on electric vehicle solutions in the past two years, helped us accelerate this decision to focus exclusively on the ZENNergyTM drive,” stated Ian Clifford, Chief Executive Officer of ZENN Motor Company. “Given the timelines involved, introducing the cityZENN directly into the marketplace would have ultimately competed with our prospective OEM and Tier 1 supplier engagements and create unnecessary near-term confusion at the consumer level. At the end of the day, we want to partner with all OEMs so that consumers can drive a variety of electric vehicles across numerous automotive brands with one common denominator –they are all Powered by ZENNergyTM.”

“A significant amount of the work that our engineering team has done to-date on the cityZENN project applies directly to ZENNergyTM drive. Leveraging this work will greatly assist our discussions with prospective partners across the automotive industry and will allow our product marketing and engineering teams to focus wholly on bringing ZENNergyTM drive solutions to market,” stated Clifford. “ZENNergyTM drive solutions will similarly be developed to address the other markets that ZMC holds the EEStor marketing rights for.”

“We have the opportunity to either challenge a small part of the market as an OEM, or to leverage the numerous established OEMs with their respective brands and infrastructure,” continued Clifford. “With access to global platforms through multiple partners, we believe we can be much more successful as a strategic technology provider than an automaker.”

About ZENN Motor Company Inc.

ZENN Motor Company, Toronto, Canada, is dedicated to being a global leader in zero emission transportation solutions and technologies for markets around the world. Driven by quality, ingenuity and a philosophy of social responsibility, the ZMC team is redefining what is possible in both urban and business fleet transportation.

ZENNergyTM drive solutions, powered by EEStor’s energy storage technology are expected to enable OEM and Tier 1 partners to deliver advanced electric transportation solutions to their customers. The Company has exclusive rights to deploy the technology in:

- New 4-wheeled passenger vehicles with a curb weight of up to 1,400 kilograms, net of battery weight (this does not include vehicles that are classified as Sport Utility Vehicles, Pickup Trucks, Trucks, Trams, Buses and certain high-performance sports cars);

- For Low-Speed Vehicles, golf carts and similar-styled utility vehicles and;

- The aftermarket conversion to ZENNergyTM drive of any 4-wheel vehicles that utilize internal combustion, electric, (or a combination thereof) drive systems and have been licensed for road use for more than one year

The current ZENN low-speed vehicle is perfect for urban commuters and commercial fleets such as resorts, gated communities, airports, college and business campuses, municipalities, and parks and is sold through a network of retailers across the United States and directly by the Company in Quebec.

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