Zapp Electric Vehicles’ innovative i300 could soon be on a road near you, having been approved by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency. Deliveries are expected to begin to UK customers this month.
The news follows an investment of up to $50m, predominantly to enable the launch into the $300bn Indian market. David McIntyre, formerly of McLaren, Jaguar Land Rover, Aston Martin, Bentley, Porsche and Lotus, has also joined as chief operating officer.
But it is the DVSA news that will be of most interest to UK buyers.
“This approval of the initial i300s to arrive in the United Kingdom for customers further validates our commitment to quality and fit-for-purpose engineering and design,” said Swin Chatsuwan, founder and CEO of Zapp EV.
“We look forward to the first customer deliveries, which will also showcase our convenient drop-ship-direct-to-customer order fulfilment by Zappers completed from our branded Zapper vans. Our business model is built for Zapp to scale rapidly, and these first sales will be another important milestone on the road to launching more widely in Europe while pursuing homologation in India, Thailand and additional countries in Southeast Asia.”
Prices for the all-electric i300 start at €8590, offering up to 60 kilometres of range and a charge time of as little as one hour. The performance is astounding, too, with a 0-45 mph of a shade over four seconds and top speed of 60 mph.
A patented exoskeleton chassis allows the i300 to tip the scales at a mere 270kg, and allows for under- rather than over-seat storage, while the two battery packs are portable to enable charging anywhere. It is a fascinating, rapid and award-winning piece of kit that Zapp EV believes will transform inner-city travel.
You’ll be able to get up close to the i300 in the Command Works and Innovation@Scramble on Sunday 6 October.