SANTA ROSA, Calif., Oct. 6, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- ZAP (ZAAP), an Electric Vehicle (EV) automotive company incorporated in California Bay Area, and its subsidiary Jonway Auto announced the receipt of Brazil type approval certification for its SUV and the signing of annual sales contract with its partner Agra 8000, a Brazil company headquartered in Rio de Janeiro on the shoreline of Barra da Tijuca.  After several years of extensive work by the joint partners, Jonway Auto's SUVs have been calibrated to meet the E22 requirements with complete type approval and certification issued for Brazil and meeting all of the crash, safety as well as emissions requirements.  The extensive work to achieve this recent successful certification in Brazil was done in collaboration with Agra 8000, and this opens up Brazil and potentially other South American markets that look to Brazil as the high benchmark for auto certification. 

Agra 8000, a subsidiary of Action Brazil, is well financed by Itau Bank in Brazil with over US$80 million set aside to finance its network of dealerships established in Rio de Janeiro, Minas and Gerais.  Agra 8000 has built a new warehouse in the port of Vitoria to provide service support and shipment staging.  Agra 8000 is well established with multiple customer service and training centers in place to support its network of dealerships in the different cities.

The annual sales contract starts shipment in October this year with initial monthly shipment of 50 SUVs per month.  This successful certification and partnership could potentially open up additional channels in South America for ZAP and Jonway's Electric Vehicles and New Energy Vehicle (CNG) products, as they share the same crash and safety tests.  Brazil is one of the top auto markets in S. America with a high barrier to entry due to its tough type approval requirements.  With this milestone certification of Jonway's SUVs and its strong partnership, ZAP now has the opportunity to expand quickly and utilize this established well financed strong dealership network in the Brazil which can potentially serve as the hub for supporting neighboring countries.

About ZAP and Jonway Auto

ZAP and Jonway Auto designs and manufactures quality, affordable new energy and electric vehicles (EVs).  Jonway Automobile has ISO 9000 manufacturing facilities, certified for EV manufacturing, and engineering, sales and customer services facilities in China.  Jonway has production capacity of up to 50,000 vehicles per year, over 1 million square feet of factory space, and over 65 acres of land and established sales distribution network in China. ZAP, an early pioneer of EVs, brings to both companies a broad range of EV product technologies. ZAP is headquartered in Santa Rosa, California and Jonway Auto is located in Zhejiang Province of the People's Republic of China. Additional information about ZAP Jonway is available at http://www.zapworld.com.

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  The words "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "plan," and similar expressions that may tend to suggest a future event or outcome are not guarantees of performance, which cannot be predicted or anticipated.  These forward-looking statements are based largely on expectations and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the control of the Company.  Actual results could differ materially from these forward-looking statements.    

Contact:   Michael Ringstad
Mringstad@zapworld.com
707-525-8658x104

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SOURCE ZAP