With gasoline prices soaring and its holiday delivery season peaking, the company known as Brown is going a little green.

United Parcel Service has leased 42 plug-in electric cars and trucks made by Zap of Santa Rosa to deliver smaller packages in Petaluma, Rohnert Park, Sebastopol, Sonoma, Novato, San Jose and Santa Cruz during this busy holiday season.

UPS won't get power steering, power brakes or power anything else with these little three-wheel Xebras. The company won't get any gasoline bills either. Nor will there be any tailpipe emissions to contribute to global warming. Zap stands for zero air pollution. With six dry-cell batteries powering its real-wheel-mounted motor, a Xebra can go up to 40 mph. It has a range of about 25 to 40 miles after being plugged into an ordinary electrical outlet overnight.

Zap estimates driving costs at 3 cents per mile for electricity.

Because of its low speed and lack of air bags, the Xebra isn't allowed on freeways. However, it is well suited for short trips - running errands, shuttling the kids around, commuting to a nearby job - or delivering small packages.

UPS delivers 15 million to 22 million packages a day nationwide, said spokeswoman Heather Robinson, speaking by phone from company headquarters in Atlanta. Each driver delivers about 150 packages a day. Today is expected to be the peak day for the holidays, hitting that 22 million high. Most of the Xebras are stationed in Sonoma and Novato, said Mike Yates, business manager for UPS' Petaluma distribution center. UPS is using them in high-density residential areas where parking and traffic are a problem for the familiar big brown trucks.

UPS has set up small distribution centers in such areas, using portable storage containers to store packages brought by big trucks. Then Xebra drivers pick them up for final delivery. At night, the vehicles are driven to secure locations for recharging.

UPS started using Xebras shortly before Thanksgiving and will keep them through the end of the year. "It's an evaluation, a chance to use a different solution," Robinson said.

"It's too early" to say what the outcome will be, but "so far it's working well," she said.

Before using the Xebras, the drivers were trained to get used to the handling and potential hazards, such as pedestrians and bicyclists who might not hear the quiet vehicles. To be safe, the drivers tap their horns when they see someone.

Even though the final verdict on Xebra isn't in, the drivers "absolutely love it," Yates said. People often tell them "they're happy to have (the zero-emission vehicles) in their neighborhood."

Zap was founded in Alameda in 1994 by Gary Starr, now the company's chairman, and inventor James McGreen. It moved to Sebastopol a few months later.

It set up its offices, a showroom and museum in Santa Rosa in 2002. Initially it made electric bicycles and scooters. Cars joined the lineup in 2003.

Xebras are assembled by the Shandong Jindalu Vehicle Co. Ltd. at its new factory in the city of Ling Xian in the Shandong Province of China. It has a capacity of up to 4,000 vehicles a month.

They're shipped to two warehouses in Santa Rosa for completion, inspection and distribution.

Zap had sought the rights to distribute Daimler-Chrysler's tiny, gasoline-powered Smart car in the United States, but that deal fell through, said Zap spokesman Alex Campbell.

Popular in Europe, the 60-mpg Smart car was featured in the 2006 film "The Da Vinci Code."

The Xebra car is a four-door sedan that's 10 feet long, 5 feet wide and just over 5 feet high. It weighs about 1,900 pounds.

With one wheel in front and two in back, it's registered as a motorcycle, said Taylor Smith, general manager of the Electric Green Showroom at Hilts Auto in San Carlos, Zap's newest Bay Area dealership.

"It's a town car. It's for tooling around town," Smith said.

The truck is slightly longer and narrower with larger batteries. It can be configured as a flatbed or dump truck and carry up to 500 pounds. Smith sees it as useful at school or business campuses or in parks.

Both vehicles come with a radio; a CD player; a heater; and a 12-volt plug for a fan (no air conditioning), a GPS device or a cell phone. An optional solar charger can extend driving range during the day.

The base price of the sedan is $9,900, while a truck with upgraded batteries is about $12,000, Smith said. Taxes and registration are extra.

Batteries last about three years and cost $1,200 to $2,000 to replace, said Zap spokesman Campbell.

Little maintenance is needed, mainly for the brake fluid and gear box about every 100,000 miles, said Mark Appel, marketing manager for the San Carlos dealership. State Farm and other companies will insure the vehicles, he said.

A short test drive showed that driving a Xebra takes some adjustment because of its zippy acceleration and tight turning radius. It's also a rough ride, but there's no engine noise. The engine turns off when the driver takes his foot off the accelerator.

Zap also makes the $2,995 Zapino electric scooter, which resembles a Vespa; three-wheel off-road vehicles ranging from $799 to $4,800; the $530 Zappy, a three-wheel stand-up scooter; and two upgraded Zappy models for $580 and $900.

Besides electric vehicles, Zap makes Recharge-It-All Batteries and Chargers for electronic devices. The company is expected to introduce its iZAP rechargeable battery for iPods at the MacWorld conference next month in San Francisco. Next year, Zap plans to distribute the Obvio, a small Brazilian-made car that can use ethanol, gasoline or any combination of those fuels.

Late in the year, Zap and Lotus Engineering hope to introduce a crossover electric sport SUV, the Zap-X. It reportedly will have a range of about 350 miles, a top speed of 155 mph and a 10-minute recharging time. Zap is taking reservations for $25,000.

A sedan version with a range of about 100 miles, a top speed of about 100 mph and a price of about $30,000 is expected to be available sooner, according to USA Today.

Also next year, a potential competitor to Zap, Tesla Motors of San Carlos, hopes to deliver its long-delayed Tesla Roadster to buyers who deposit $5,000 to get on its new waiting list, according to Edmunds.com. This electric sports car is said to have a range of 245 miles, a top speed of 125 mph and a price tag of around $98,000.

Zap is publicly traded over the counter. It had a net loss of $480,000 for the nine months that ended Sept. 30, according to its latest quarterly report. Its stock closed at 82 cents Tuesday.

Still, company officials are optimistic. "Electric car technology is here, and the race is on to see who can take the lead in creating sustainable transportation. ... With our experience, we know Zap will play a leadership role," said Steve Schneider, chief executive officer, in a letter to shareholders in May.

Al Yousuf Group, a manufacturing and distribution company in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, bought $5 million in shares in November, Zap reported. One of its subsidiaries is Al Yousuf Motors, which serves several cities in the oil-rich Middle East.

The Electric Vehicle Co., a startup in Chicago, ordered $79 million worth of Zap vehicles in April, Automotive Tech reported. It plans to sell electric vehicles to municipalities, campuses, the military, foreign countries and other entities.

Coca-Cola's Latin American subsidiary said in October that it will use Xebra trucks in South America, Zap reported.

"We're not out to get rid of gas cars. We're just trying to create a choice," said Zap's Campbell. For now, "we're the only company that's selling anything faster.".