Car-Buyers Flock to ZAP's Auction of SMART Car on eBay
10 December 2004 - 4:35AM
PR Newswire (US)
Car-Buyers Flock to ZAP's Auction of SMART Car on eBay SANTA ROSA,
Calif., Dec. 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Within hours of putting
the first legal U.S. SMART Car on eBay, bidders rushed to become
the first to own one, said U.S. distributor ZAP (OTC:ZAPZ)
(BULLETIN BOARD: ZAPZ) . ZAP says that over 10,000 people have
visited the eBay auction site, according to the eBay counter, and
239 people have put the SMARTCAR on their eBay Watch List. ZAP is
selling the first DOT and EPA approved version of the car in the
United States. Bidding for the SMART Car rose to $23,556.78 as of
today at 9:15 AM PST. To view the auction, which runs through
December 16, visit http://www.ebay.com/ and search using the
keywords 'SMART Car' under eBay Motors. Since announcing its
intentions to sell the SMART Car in the U.S., ZAP has says 8,100
hand-raisers have visited its website stating their intent to
purchase the two passenger microcar. Car-buyers are now placing
reservation fees to be next in line to purchase the cars when they
go on sale, sometime in early 2005, says CEO Steve Schneider. ZAP
said that the auction had to be reinitiated after it was discovered
that new technical information needed to be added, including a
misprint on the Vehicle Identification Number. EBay software does
not allow the change of information without re-listing the auction.
Frank Giovinazzi, Web Editor for the American International Auto
Dealers Association (AIADA), called the move "marketing genius."
His article reports that the SMART Car has already sold in over 30
countries, more than 500,000 units globally. ZAP, which has become
one of the most recognized brands in advanced transportation, was
named in Advertising Age's Marketing 100 in 2000 for its innovative
marketing. ZAP is moving ahead with the U.S. marketing and
distribution for the SMART Car after announcing federal DOT and EPA
approval on November 22 at the San Francisco International Auto
Show. ZAP is working to establish a nationwide dealer network that
caters to energy-efficient car-buyers, including cars that run on
electricity and fuel cells. All the traffic to ZAP's listing of the
SMART Car on eBay has also attracted attention to its other
innovative transportation and energy products. ZAP's Information
Technology Manager Yuan Wang says that sales for ZAP's new Portable
Energy and ZAPPY3 electric scooter have been increasing based on
the interest in the SMART Car. ABOUT ZAP ZAP has been a leader in
clean transportation technologies since 1994, delivering more than
85,000 vehicles to customers in more than 60 countries. A public
company, ZAP is traded on the Over-the-Counter stock exchange under
the symbol ZAPZ. The company offers a variety of advanced
technology vehicles, including electric cars, bicycles, scooters,
motorbikes, underwater scooters and more. For more information,
visit http://www.zapworld.com/ or call +1-707-525-8658. ZAP is not
affiliated with, or authorized by, smart gmbh, the manufacturer of
SMART automobiles, or the smartUSA division of Mercedes-Benz LLC,
the exclusive authorized U.S. importer and distributor of those
vehicles. ZAP purchases its vehicles from non-affiliated direct
importer Smart-Automobile LLC. Forward-looking statements in this
release are made pursuant to the "safe harbor" provisions of the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Investors are
cautioned that such forward-looking statements involve risks and
uncertainties, including, without limitation, continued acceptance
of the Company's products, increased levels of competition for the
Company, new products and technological changes, the Company's
dependence upon third-party suppliers, intellectual property
rights, and other risks detailed from time to time in the Company's
periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
DATASOURCE: ZAP CONTACT: media, Alex Campbell, +1-707-525-8658,
ext. 241, , or investors, Steven Kim, +1-707-525-8658, ext. 298, ,
both of ZAP Web site: http://www.zapworld.com/
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