In my recent review of the ZAP Xebra I stuck my neck out and said: "The Xebra probably costs $3k to make. It's certainly not worth much more than that." Turns out I was being (uncharacteristically) conservative. According to newlaunches.com, a four-wheel version of the Xebra is to be sold in India as the Tara Tiny for $2450. A joint venture between India's Tara and China's Aucma, a manufacturer of electric vehicles, will result in the "the world's cheapest car;" undercutting the Tata Nano by a whopping $50. The Xebra sedan is being sold here for up to $16k. BTW, battery life for the Xebra is 4k miles, according to a poll of owners. And how do I know it's the Xebra? That fourth wheel is a good disguise, but I'd recognize that god-awful hard-shell one-piece dashboard anywhere, even half-way around the world.
4000 miles for the battery pack? Holy crap!
Hmm, they’ve already dropped the price. It was previously only one rupee less than the Nano.
https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/news-blog/is-taras-tiny-a-big-threat-to-tata-nano/
With the optional AC Inverter connected to the battery pack, this vehicle can double as a UPS for the home when the power goes out (which happens every day around the same time in many places in India)
crackers :
At least in this case they’re charging a fair price for the vehicle. The AC inverter allowing use as a UPS it’s actually got an interesting feature to tout.
Isn’t the claimed range, 50 to 62.5 miles, longer than the Xebra as well?
50 to 62.5 miles would be an actual usable range for a lot of people (me included). I’d take it with a grain of salt though until I’d seen the conditions that allowed that to be achieved.
Lumberh21: Isn’t the claimed range, 50 to 62.5 miles, longer than the Xebra as well?
Given owner’s actual experience with the Xebra, I’d take it with a big lump of salt.
To be fair, I don’t know the exact specs of the Tara’s batteries (and range), but at that price, I would be quite confident that they’re not any better than the Xebra’s.
From the article: The Tara Tiny is a left hand model and is currently exported slated for export in the USA.
So, yet another toy import from China. Let’s hope they didn’t use lead paint on it.
The electric cars have 35 moving parts…
Does that include the many rattles?
The 4k battery life is a problem though. If you used it conservatively for errands and such 4k miles in a year is still quite conceivable. How much is a battery pack replacement on this thing?
“How much is a battery pack replacement on this thing?“Well, if the Xebra uses six 12-volt lead-acid car batteries (as in golf cart), I guess an annual trip down to the local Sears to buy six new Die-Hards would be the way to find out.
rudiger: car batteries and deep cycle batteries are different. A replacement pack runs closer to $2,000.
Wow, when the pack no longer charges the vehicle is a total!
(I know that’s not really the case but I have had vehicles whose value fluctuated heavily based on how much gas I had in the tank).
“car batteries and deep cycle batteries are different. A replacement pack runs closer to $2,000.“Sorry, I could have sworn the article on the Xebra said they were ‘conventional’ lead-acid batteries which, to me, means car battery.
rudiger, “conventional” lead acid cells may look the same, but car batteries cannot take many full discharge cycles. Deep-cycle lead acid batteries can, and are considerably more expensive.
From the extremely tiny fine print: The 50-62 mile range depends on several factors, such as beginning your journey on top of a mountain with a long, straight downhill, use of the optional sail attachment and fortuitous encounters with wormholes that provide 40 miles of transit. Range may be extended by attaching a large hang glider to the roof and driving off a cliff, but please note this will void the warranty and may not be covered by some insurance policies. Thank you for your purchase of a Tara Tiny.
“Paul” is basing his information on the life of Xebra batteries on a poll of EIGHT people. Paul, why don’t you try and find something to write about that you really know something about? As for the price of the car in India, it’s in India DUH! You head on over there and bring me one back one for $2450 and I’ll eat your shoe.
BTW: We would love to see you back over at the Xebra forum to educate us on all the things you know about Xebras.
http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/Xebra_EV/
This is where Paul gets all his “Xebra Know How” from. Come on over and ask questrions of people who actually own Xebras, or just take Pauls word for it.
My name is Mark Higley and my phone number is XXX-XXX-XXXX (deleted by moderator for security reasons). I have owned a Xebra for two years. I take my son to school in mine everyday and do most of my errands in my Xebra. I am a Xebra dealer and i do not hide behind fake names and misinformation.
I wonder how the Zebra would run with a Zilla controller and a set of lithium ion batteries?