Electric vehicle maker ZAP says locating the electric motors near the wheels will make its electric vehicle much more efficient. If true, it could influence the design of future electric and hybrid vehicles.
ZAP is building the ZAP-X crossover with Lotus Engineering, and the company announced it will be using wheel motors from PML FlightLink. Wheel motors can capture up to 85 percent of the energy through its regenerative braking system, a substantial improvement over the approximiate 20 percent of energy recovered in today's hybrids. 
While ZAP's claims for the performance of its vehicle seem grandiose, hooking up with Lotus and now PML Flightlink adds legitimacy to their claims. ZAP says the car can be recharged in 10 minutes and can travel up to 350 miles on a single charge.
If ZAP can sell this car for the $60,000 they promise, they'll have people lining up. Gasoline prices will continue to far outpace electricity prices, so going electric will make economic sense.
Source: Inside Greentech
