If You Think the Chevy Volt Has Problems, Test Drive Electric Vehicle Stocks Li-ion Motors (LIMO), T3 Motion (TTTM) & ZAP (ZAAP)

If you think the Chevrolet Volt is giving General Motors (NYSE: GM) headaches, try taking electric vehicle stocks Li-ion Motors (OTC: LIMO), T3 Motion (NYSE: TTTM) and ZAP (OTC: ZAAP) out for a test drive. To begin with, General Motors (GM) will be halting production of the Chevrolet Volt from March 19 to April 23 because of high inventories because not enough people are buying them. On the other hand and while General Motors (GM) has plenty of cash (thanks to the taxpayer bailout) and gas guzzling vehicles (that people still want to buy) to fall back on, electric vehicle stocks Li-ion Motors (LIMO), T3 Motion (TTTM) and ZAP (ZAAP) aren’t so lucky. Hence and before you make an investment in the “future,” here is a quick test drive of all three electric vehicle stocks:

Li-ion Motors (OTC: LIMO)

Li-ion Motors is focused on the development, manufacturing and marketing of high speed lithium-powered vehicles. On Monday, Li-ion Motors sank 16.33% to $0.251 (LIMO has a 52 week trading range of $0.16 to $5.60 a share) for a market cap of $1.61 million – despite the fact that there appears to have been a number of transactions ranging from $1k to $15k paid by third parties to promote the stock. Li-ion Motors has recently issued a press release announcing plans for further collaboration along with an amended license agreement with Lithium Electric Vehicle Corp. of Canada in order to to benefit from Canadian and Quebec government incentives. However, this is precisely the problem with the electric vehicle industry: It needs a significant amount of government “incentives” or subsidies to stay afloat. Otherwise, investors should note that Li-ion Motors has reported revenues of $711k (fiscal year ended July 31, 2011), $615k (fiscal year ended July 31, 2010) and $476k (fiscal year ended July 31, 2009); net income of $119k (fiscal year ended July 31, 2009) and net losses of $3,934k (fiscal year ended July 31, 2010) and $6,818k (fiscal year ended July 31, 2009); and reported having no cash to cover $2,430k in current liabilities and $4,692k in total liabilities as of October 30th. In other words, Li-ion Motors sounds like a great investment for taxpayers both north and south of the border – right?

T3 Motion (NYSE: TTTM)

T3 Motion has developed the T3 Series, a zero gas emissions all-electric vehicle designed to for daily professional functions ranging from community policing to the patrolling of airports, military bases, campuses, malls and public event venues. On Monday, T3 Motion fell 4.17% to $0.46 (TTTM has a 52 week trading range of $0.26 to $9.80 a share) for a market cap $5.93 million and the stock is down around 86.5% over the past year. T3 Motion has recently announced a shipment of 16 vehicles, the first of a 126 unit order, to Nigeria and that French police have reduced crime by 12% by using T3 Motion electric vehicles. On the other hand and not mentioned in any T3 Motion press release is the fact that the company reported revenues of $4,683k (2010) and $4,644k (2009) along with net losses of $8,328k (2010) and $6,699k (2009). For 2011, T3 Motion reported growing revenues of $1,884k (most recent reporting quarter), $1,331k and $997k along with growing net losses of $1,207k (most recent reporting quarter), $668k and $641k plus the company had $3,764k in cash to cover $2,089k in current liabilities and $3,089k in total liabilities. In other words, T3 Motion appears to be in better shape than Li-ion Motors and it does have an interesting concept vehicle. Nevertheless, T3 Motion is not making any money for itself or for investors.

ZAP (OTC: ZAAP)

ZAP designs and manufactures gasoline and electric vehicles as well as automobiles in a broad array of products (SUV, van, truck, motorcycle, sedan, scooter, ATV, 3-wheel, vehicle integrations, charging stations and related EV infrastructure technologies). And while ZAP is headquartered in Santa Rosa, its effectively a Chinese company as it owns a majority interest in Zhejiang Jonway Automobile Co., Ltd., or Jonway Automobile and its production is done in China. On Monday, ZAP rose 1.02% to $0.198 (ZAAP has a 52 week trading range of $0.13 to $0.97 a share) for a market cap of $45 million but the stock is down about 78.5% over the past year. At the end of last year, ZAP announced that it and China Electric Vehicle Corporation (CEVC), an entity affiliated with Cathaya Capital, have agreed to extend the maturity date of a $19 million convertible note held by later until August 12, 2012. A quick look at ZAP’s financials reveals that ZAP will probably need another extension as the company has reported revenues of $3,816k (2010), $4,068k (2009) and $7,588k (2008); net losses of $19,018k (2010), $11,276k (2009) and $9,807k (2008); and had $4,817k in cash and $1,426k in short term investments to cover $50,789k in current liabilities and $78,883k in total liabilities. Of course, that’s if you believe any financials reported from what’s effectively a Chinese company listed in the US.

The Bottom Line. A quick test drive of electric vehicle stocks Li-ion Motors (LIMO), T3 Motion (TTTM) and ZAP (ZAAP) will probably have most investors not passing the starting line when it comes to making an investment in any of them.