ZAP, Lithium Balance boost range of Xebra

December 10, 2007 - by David Ehrlich, Cleantech Group
A new battery management system pushed the electric pickup to 152 miles on a single charge, up from 100 miles.

Santa Rosa, Calif.-based ZAP (OTC: ZAAP) said today a new battery management system from Copenhagen, Denmark's Lithium Balance extended the range of its Xebra electric vehicle to 152 miles on a single charge.

That's up from the 100 miles the Xebra pickup traveled in a similar test in July.

ZAP said it's been collaborating with Lithium Balance since January on the development of the new battery system and has acquired the exclusive distribution rights to the technology for integration into its electric vehicles.

The company said Lithium Balance's new system is smaller and lighter, increasing the energy density by eight to ten times compared to the lead acid batteries that are common in today's electric cars.

Two Xebra electric vehicles are being used for testing the Lithium Balance system at facilities in Copenhagen.

The $10,000 car is made for city-speed driving up to 40 miles per hour and can recharge at any normal household outlet.

ZAP said the two companies plan to offer an upgrade for the Xebra pickup in the near future.

Copyright © 2007 Cleantech Group LLC. All rights reserved, including right of redistribution.

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Comments

Xebra from ZAP

Submitted on December 15th, 2007 by InterestedReader

The Xebra is a very poor vehicle with it's old lead acid batteries, low range and very poor ride even at 25 mph.
I haven't seen them actually offer lithium battery options on any of their vehicles.

The GEM , Zeen and Dynasty are much better NEV vehicles for slow neighborhood speeds.

Xebra

Submitted on April 2nd, 2008 by Ray Villanueva (not verified)

I just bought a Xebra and have realized the advertised 40mph/40mi range on the standard deep cycle batteries. I was suprised to find that I could hit 60 mph going down a 3% grade while traveling through Phoenix this last weekend. I have been tracking my electrical recharge requirements on a kill-a-watt meter and find that I am only using .25 cents to fill the batts overnight after my 20.8 mile to work and back.
The Xebra is really great for short trips around town!

I would be interested in getting the Li batteries when my original equipment batteries need replacement. 2-3 years??

Mileage

Submitted on April 19th, 2008 by Unregistered user (not verified)

60 mph going down a 3% grade? How fast going UP the same grade?

Xebra sedan

Submitted on July 1st, 2008 by Ray Wells (not verified)

My Xebra sedan has done 7,000 miles, I can get about 43mph on the flat using a 7th 12V battery. A better question than the one above would be: "how fast can you go up the 3% grade at the end of 40 miles?" You only get a certain amount of energy out of batteries, regardless of the vehicle specs. The Xebra is doing far better than a C5, for example. To compare it with a gas powered car isn't useful. It is what it is, or what you can "modify" it to be.

Batteries for extended mileage.

Submitted on March 2nd, 2009 by Unregistered user (not verified)

I would love to hear when and where and how much for the batteries that would extend my Zap Xebra Sedan from 25 miles to perhaps 50 miles before recharging?

here you go

Submitted on March 8th, 2009 by scott (not verified)

http://tinyurl.com/asc76j

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