UPS to Use ZAP Electric Car and Truck Fleet for Deliveries
PETALUMA, CA., Nov 13, 2007 – It will be a green holiday this season for United Parcel Service (UPS), who rolled out a small parcel delivery service this week in Northern California using 42 electric cars and trucks from ZAP (OTCBB: ZAAP).
The UPS branch in Petaluma, California has leased an initial fleet of 42 ZAP Xebra® electric city cars and trucks for their small parcel deliveries. This is the first time that UPS has used electric city-speed vehicles for this purpose.
Brown Goes Green – UPS rolled out an electric car and truck fleet from ZAP this week to help with small parcel deliveries in dense urban communities. The move was made to reduce fuel consumption and reduce CO2 emissions.
Small parcel deliveries are becoming more challenging for the trademark big, brown UPS delivery vans, which is why UPS is using the electric city cars and trucks to handle small parcel deliveries. The ZAP vehicles lessen fuel consumption and reduce automotive emissions produced by current delivery vehicles. Drivers will be monitoring their electrical usage to carefully analyze cost-savings and emissions reductions.
“This is the missing link for small package deliveries in congested areas,” said ZAP CEO Steve Schneider. “Packages go from the airplanes, to the tractor trailers, to the delivery vans, then to the drop-off nodes. From there the ZAP trucks make the final delivery to the consumer in a zero-emission vehicle that costs less to operate. It’s a perfect example of how green technology can help corporate America’s bottom line.”
UPS is setting up strategic distribution nodes where vans can transfer packages to the ZAP Xebras for final delivery in smaller communities, neighborhoods and downtown areas where larger delivery vans are less efficient and have a more difficult time navigating or parking.
“ZAP vehicles are much better than full size trucks in urban areas because they can save a fleet operator money,” said ZAP Chairman Gary Starr. “Electric vehicles can also be one of the best things any organization can do to cut greenhouse gases and help the environment.”
A publicly owned automotive manufacturer and distributor based in nearby Santa Rosa, California, ZAP specializes in energy-efficient transportation technologies. The ZAP Xebra was designed as an economical electric city car that can handle city-speed driving up to 40 MPH for daily urban driving, commuting as well as light duty government and corporate fleet applications. ZAP cars and trucks are believed to be the only 40 MPH street-legal electric vehicles available in production today and sell for a little over $10,000 with a cost of about three cents per mile for electricity. Studies show that electric vehicles reduce automotive emissions by more than 90 percent compared to gasoline vehicles, including the emissions from power plants.