Zenn Motor is expanding its lineup to include a highway-legal electric car and an all-electric drivetrain for other automakers, the company announced Thursday.
Zenn (for “zero emission no noise”) has been working on these particular products for some time.
Now the Toronto-based company says that the CityZenn all-electric, highway-legal car, which was thought to be in the offing for 2009, should be available for retail in 2010.
More interesting, it’s promised to offer an all-electric drivetrain to be used in other cars with co-branding. It’s called the Zennergy drivetrain and includes a unique power source from Texas-based company EEStor.
Zenn’s partner EEStor has been developing a new type of ultra-capacitor for electricity storage for years. Both companies claim the system can deliver more power and offer a longer range than the typical lithium-ion battery used in electric cars.
In April 2007 Zenn spent about $2.5 million for a 3.8 percent share in EEStor, and as an investor has the right to obtain the first units it produces. In 2008, Zenn told CNET it expected prototypes of the EESUs to be sent over to them by the end of the year.
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