SANMEN, China, May 29, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bringing some sparkle to the world of Chinese vans, ZAP JONWAY (OTCBB:ZAAP) launched sales for its new Five Star van on May 19, including an unveiling and celebration with dealers, employees, government officials and media at its Sanmen Factory.
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The Five Star van is distinctively designed, economical and versatile and will open new markets for ZAP JONWAY, one of China's newest automakers since launching production in 2009. Acquired by ZAP in 2011, Jonway Automobile also produces its A380 SUV at the same location. Co-CEOs Steve Schneider and Alex Wang and several board members attended the celebration.
"The Five Star turns the image of a van upside down," said Schneider. "We paid extreme attention to detail, quality and price with an aim to inspire a passionate response from buyers. The Five Star is not what people would expect from a van at this price, and the response shows it is working. More than 60 dealers came to see the unveiling of the Five Star and 24 joined our dealer network on the same day."
ZAP JONWAY is establishing Five Star as a new brand and separate dealer network to expand its market in dense urban areas, with families, small businesses, governments and corporations. Schneider noted that he is having a shipment delivered to the USA immediately so international distribution partners have a better opportunity of sampling them.
Schneider says the Five Star will be very competitive in China, a market that has grown with the economy and commercial vehicle subsidies. The largest seller of vans, Wuling, reported sales of 534,000 Sunshine Vans in 2011. ZAP JONWAY believes the quality and pricing of its new Five Star van will allow it to gain a significant share of this market. Priced from CNY37,800 (US$5,975), the Five Star is 15 percent less than Wuling's base version while sharing features like a 1.1-liter four-cylinder engine.
For more information on the Five Star, visit http://www.zapjonway.com.
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Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, continued acceptance of ZAP's products, increased levels of competition, new products and technological changes, ZAP's dependence upon third-party suppliers, intellectual property rights and other risks detailed from time to time in ZAP's periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
