Electric Cars In Ontario July 11/08 Print E-mail
Friday, 11 July 2008 05:18
Toronto Company Has Electric Car But Our Government Won't Let Them Sell It

3rd July, 2008

The EPOCH TIMES

A July 2008 update report in the Canadian edition of EPOCH TIMES (unable to find the report in the electronic edition) by Matthew Little …………. http://www.zenncars.com/ )

> A small Canadian electric car company is poised to unleash a ground-shaking generation of electric cars using breakthrough technology that could turn the automotive industry upside down.

> ZENN Motor Company is already doing a pretty good job of making its small electric cars, even if most Canadians have no idea that a company in their own country is producing such a thing. Many had not heard of the company until Canuck-comedian Rick Mercer did a skit about it on his popular parody show, the “Rick Mercer Report”.

> That might be because it is almost exclusively sold in the United States and has encountered regulatory obstacles getting on the road in most Canadian provinces. To date only British Columbia and recently Quebec have approved the car despite it earning Transport Canada ’s National Safety Mark for low-speed vehicles in late 2007.

> The ZENN (which stands for Zero Emissions, No Noise) is a small, fully electric car, and has a federally regulated maximum speed of 40 km/hr (25 mph). The two-passenger hatchback retails for US$15,995. Based in Toronto , Ontario , Zenn Motor Company Inc recently sold over four million shares at $3.75 each to raise $15.2 million dollars.

> Although its current model has a 50-80 km range per charge, it has a potentially revolutionary deal in the works that has market analysts excited at the possibility that those recent shares could jump to 15 or 20 dollars.

> That deal is the exclusive worldwide rights to market a new battery system for all cars under 1,400 kg. Until now the major obstacle to marketing electric cars has been batteries that were too expensive, too heavy or too short on power. The new technology, created by EEStor, could change all of that.

> By fall 2009 the motor company plans to launch cityZENN – a fully certified, highway capable car with a top speed of 125 km/hr (almost 80 mph) with a range of 400 km (250 miles) that can recharge in less than five minutes. The operating cost of the new batteries is one-tenth oif of a regular internal combustion engine, according to ZENN Motor Company.

> The other company with rights to the EEStor technology is U.S. defence contractor Lockheed Martin, which plans to use the technology in military applications.

> The potential of the new battery has investors jumping on ZENN’s stock, which will jump or sink according to the success or failure of the batteries, suggest analysts. On Bloomberg TV, Rick Welty, of investment advisory firm Welty Capital Management, said the stock could tank to $1 if the battery fails or jump to $20 if it succeeds. The shares have already climbed 81% in the past three months on the Toronto Venture Exchange.

> EEStor, a privately held and secretive company based in Texas , has said that it expects its technology to be commercially ready within six months.

> If that holds true, the little-heard-of ZENN could become a household name overnight.

> The company is currently looking at expending into the Canadian market following the Quebec provincial government’s recent deciusion to launch a three-year pilot program to allow low-speed vehicles, like the ZENN, on the roads.

> Meanwhile the company will continue selling its cars across the United States , the only country that currently has retail locations, according to the manufacturer’s website. The Epoch Times was unable to reach a ZENN representative by press time (we missed each other’s calls twice) but according to various sources the ZENN sells for around $12,000 to $16,000. No price was available for the cityZENN.>

> Electric car maker poised to shock auto industry >

> Nicolas Van Praet, Financial Post >

> June 25, 2008 >

> http://www.zenncars.com/media/documents/FinancialPost2.pdf > > >

> Gilles Allard, production chief of Zenn Motor Co., still visits his local gas station despite the fact he drives one of the company's gas-less electric cars. As he says, he needs his milk and cigarettes. >

> Mr. Allard is a busy guy these days. His small team is building Zenn cars at a factory just north of Montreal at a rate of two to three vehicles a day and counting. Every one of them is being shipped to dealers in the United States for willing buyers. They're still illegal on most Canadian roads. >

> Like other companies selling alternative transportation in an oil-dependent world, Toronto-based Zenn has suddenly become a sexy stock. Its shares have gained 81% over the past three months on the Toronto Venture Exchange despite the fact the company has yet to post a profit. >

> Thing is, Zenn could soon be much more than sexy. It could be downright disruptive, turning the automotive industry on its head. >

> Sometime over the next several weeks, a privately-held and ultra-secretive company named EEStor Inc. based in Cedar Park , Texas is expected to release the results of independent third-party testing of its electrical energy storage unit, which aims to replace the electrochemical batteries we now use in everything from hybrid cars to laptop computers. EEStor says its system, combining battery and ultracapacitor technology and based onmodified barium titanate ceramic powder, could power a car for 400 kilometres with regular performance. It claims the unit would charge in a few minutes and weigh less than 10% of current lead-acid batteries for the same cost. >

> If it is proven to work, EEStor, and its equity and business partners, including Zenn and U.S. defence contractor Lockheed Martin Corp., will have a technology that could change the transportation industry, with implications for renewable energy and any sector that needs electrical energy storage technology. >

> Officials with Lockheed, which earlier this year bought exclusive rights to use EEStor's power system for military purposes, have said the technology "could lead to energy independence for the warfighter." Officials with Zenn, which bought exclusive worldwide rights to the system for vehicles weighing up to 1,400 kg, say they believe it is the "holy grail" of electric storage systems. >

> EEStor has said it expects its technology to be commercially ready within six months. >

> "This is not small potatoes here. If this works it really changes the transportation sector," says Massimo Fiore, an analyst with Versant Partners in Montreal . He rates Zenn a "speculative buy" with a one year price target of $6.50. >

> "You'd have a very strong decoupling from oil," he said. "[Zenn] could have a very big return for investors. But it is still speculative." >

> Rick Welty of investment advisory firm Welty Capital Management in LaFayette , Calif. recently discussed Zenn on Bloomberg TV. "The caveat is the upside-downside potential" for the company's stock, he said. "If it doesn't work, it probably goes to $1 a share. If it does work, it could be $15 or $20 or far higher." >

> Zenn's future growth is inextricably linked to EEStor's success or failure. It holds a 3.8% equity position in EEStor, a strategic investment allowing Zenn to participate in the commercialization of its technology in non-automotive applications like aerospace. And its next generation of planned cars, called the cityZenn, will trade in the company's current lead-acid batteries for EEStor's storage unit. >

> A commercially viable power source by EEStor would boost the maximum speed of its cars from 40 km/h to 120 km/h, take them from the backroads to the highways, and thrust Zenn from a small company making niche electric vehicles into the global automotive mainstream. >

> Zenn and EEStor are not alone in the hunt for electric supremacy. Several major and minor companies are working on making better-performing batteries for all-electric and hybrid cars. General Motors Corp.'s Volt car, powered with lithium-ion batteries, is perhaps the most high-profile electric vehicle planned. But Toyota Motor Corp., Nissan, Mitsubishi, Renault-Nissan, and others have outlined plans for electric cars coming to market in North America as soon as 2010. >

> The challenge for all is developing a battery that delivers enough power and range for everyday transportation at a consistent quality for mass-production, said Eric Fedewa, an analyst for CSM Worldwide in Grand Rapids , Mich. "It comes down to ultimately what is it going to cost the manufacturers to produce that technology in the vehicle. And will consumers accept that cost?" >

> EEStor certainly has its skeptics. They argue scientists and engineers have been trying to make a similar power unit for 20 years wit out success. And history has not been kind to some technology hopefuls such as Ballard Power Systems. >

> But it also has a powerful venture capital backer, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, with a pretty good knack for picking winners. Kleiner was an early investor in both Google and Amazon. >

> "If for some reason EEStor is delayed, we will continue to use the best technologies available," Zenn founder and chief executive Ian Clifford acknowledges. "But ultimately, to get 400 kilometres of range, the ability to recharge in minutes, low costs, and the ability to operate in extreme climates – all of those benefits, those come from EEStor. Those are the game-changing specifications." >

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