Zap Jonway, the Chinese Aptera

I don’t know who may have put into the heads of the founders and investors of Aptera the idea that a three-wheeled electric vehicle was going to be the future of the automobile. The experience did not end well at all; if anything, I would say it was pretty much embarrassing. Nevertheless, the idea of the electric three-wheeler has not died, and the comeback will come from China, with the Zap Jonway, produced by… Zap and Jonway.

After various liquidity problems in the USA, the bold executives at Zap have decided to acquire the plans for the Aptera 2e and take them to China to produce the bodies, while the engines will be manufactured in North America. As a first step, the model that would be the first of this “new era” was shown at the Beijing show.

The incredible thing is that this new vehicle is an idea born from one of the original competitors of Aptera for the X-Prize. After presenting its own model called Alias, Zap Cars has not fared too well in recent years.

Let us remember that the X-Prize is an annual award given for technological innovation that delivers a cash sum to encourage creativity in the field of the automobile. It is clear that similar concepts have not got very far, so the Zap Jonway does not have a very promising future.