SANTA ROSA, CA – As a result of an increase in demand for electric cars and other forms of plug-in transportation, alternative energy pioneer ZAP has increased its workforce by almost 30 percent since the beginning of the year.

"While most U.S. automakers are laying off workers and facing declining sales, ZAP is experiencing record growth," said CEO Steve Schneider. "We are proud that ZAP is one of the few companies selling cost-effective, plug-in transportation today." He added that ZAP is launching new electric vehicles this quarter.

In August, ZAP set an unaudited sales record of $737,000 — an 88 percent increase over the same period last year. The increase was primarily due to demand for its Xebra sedans and trucks. While job experts claim careers in alternative energy are one of our economy's bright spots, Schneider said there is a shortage of qualified electric car engineers, salesmen, and international business experts.

A new joint venture in Kentucky, Integrity Automotive, is expected to create hundreds of jobs building electric cars for ZAP over the next year. ZAP formed the joint venture with Integrity Manufacturing of Shepherdsville to shift some of its manufacturing to the United States. In August the joint venture broke ground on a factory in Franklin, Kentucky. Integrity Automotive is accepting job applications at http://integritymotives.com.

Schneider said electric transportation, solar, wind, and similar technologies are becoming the mainstream. He cited actions taken by stock market visionary Warren Buffett, who recently started investing in energy-efficient transportation technologies, and oil industry veteran T. Boone Pickens who is investing in solar and wind energy.