battery switch

  • Better Place 2012 Renault Fluence ZE just before return to Renault [photo: Brian of London]

    It is just over five years since I bought my Better Place Renault 2012 Fluence ZE in Israel—and a little over five months since I returned it to Israel’s Renault importer for a cash settlement. By that time, the 22-kilowatt-hour battery capacity was down to 11.3 kwh, and a warning light had been on continuously since July 2016. I gave up on my first electric car, and switched to a Hyundai hybrid. DON'T MISS: Early Better Place Customer On Israel Electric-Car Experience (Apr 2012) That’s exactly what two men—Better Place CEO, Shai Agassi and Carlos Ghosn, CEO of the...

  • Tesla Motors battery-swapping station at Harris Ranch, California, Dec 2014  [photo: Teslarati.com]
    About That (One) Tesla Battery Swapping Station: An Update

    Eighteen months ago, in the kind of flashy, highly-publicized event it's so good at, Tesla Motors said it would launch battery swapping for its Model S electric car. CEO Elon Musk presided over a demonstration in which the underfloor battery pack of a Model S was apparently removed and replaced in...

  • Better Place Battery Swapping
    The Epic Failure Of Better Place, As Covered By Fast Company

    The remarkable scope, overwhelming ambition, and epic failure of the Better Place electric-car service in Israel is worthy of a book, or several. But until one appears, Fast Company magazine has produced the most comprehensive article yet on the founding--and foundering--of the great Better Place...

  • Photo of Tesla Model S battery swapping versus 'fastest gas pump in LA' tweeted by Elon Musk
    UPDATE: Musk Posts Photo Of Tesla Model S Battery Swap Video

    Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk confirmed that a press event to be held this Thursday evening will demonstrate battery-swapping for the Tesla Model S. The mode of communication was his favorite medium: a tweet. "Seeing is believing," wrote Musk, saying that the company will do a live demonstration of...

  • Better Place visitor center [photo: Brian of London]
    Better Place Electric-Car Service Files For Bankruptcy

    Better Place, the electric-car service that pioneered battery swapping for passenger cars, filed for bankruptcy yesterday in Israel. A statement on the Better Place website said it had applied to a court for an orderly dissolution of the company to protect "the rights of its employees, customers...

  • Better Place user David Rose w/keys to Renault Fluence ZE electric car in Israel [photo: David Rose]
    How's Better Place Doing In Israel These Days?

    The Better Place electric-car system has not had a good run of news lately. But despite little attention, it has managed to boost the sales rate in Israel for its cars, along with subscriptions to its battery-switching service. Deliveries for all of 2012 were 518 cars. Roughly the first 100 were...

  • Low-battery red warning light on Better Place Renault Fluence ZE, Israel

    It's been a little more than 100 days since I drove away in my first electric car, a Renault Fluence ZE, as one of the first 100 private paying customers of the Better Place company in Israel. Here's the rundown of how I've used the car, including my likes and dislikes. In 113 days, I've covered 3,700 electric miles, and I'm averaging 30 miles a day. I've pre-paid Better Place for 12,400 miles per year, which works out to 34 miles a day. The car was stationary on 25 days. On 15 days, I've gone beyond the car's "low anxiety" realistic range of 75 miles per charge. I fit the pattern of a driver...

  • Nissan battery-switch prototype development vehicles, Better Place, Palo Alto, CA, July 2012
    Better Place Parking Lot: Ideas For Nissan Rogue Test Mules?

    Sometimes you see remarkable cars in corporate parking lots. This photo, for instance, sent to us by a reader who prefers to remain anonymous, shows five Nissan compact crossovers lined up in the parking lot at the U.S. headquarters of electric-car service provider Better Place. With both left-hand...

  • Renault Fluence ZE charging at Better Place pubic charge spots in Israel [photo: Brian of London]
    How Do Public Charging Stations Fit Into Better Place Service?

    Electric-car drivers in the U.S. are now asking, What is a fair price value for use of public Level 2 charging stations? In the U.S. and Europe, multiple networks of charging-spot providers have proliferated. Some are or were free, others offer a variety of payment terms, authentication systems...

  • 2012 Renault Fluence ZE electric car, powered by Better Place in Israel [photo: Brian of London]
    Better Place Electric Renault Fluence ZE In Israel: 1st Week

    It's been just over a week since I picked up my all-electric Renault Fluence ZE--one of 110 Better Place customers to do so during May, according to the company. I've now put on 430 all-electric miles in nine days of driving. I've charged the car predominantly at home, with a couple of extra...

  • Better Place Battery Switching Test, Yokohama Japan
    Fast Charging Vs Battery Switching: Better Place Customer Compares

    By far the most reasonable use for electric cars charged at home is for a regular commute. If the return journey is less than the range of the car, electric cars make complete sense. Battery topping up using Level 2 chargers in public areas is a bonus, but rarely make an impossible journey...

  • Better Place user David Rose w/keys to Renault Fluence ZE electric car in Israel [photo: David Rose]
    Early Better Place Customer On Israel Electric-Car Experience

    With no local fanfare or announcements, electric car network provider Better Place has started delivering cars to its first paying customers in Israel. One the first customers is David Rose, who reserved his car in October 2011. His home charging spot was installed a month after he submitted his...

  • Electric Car Battery Swapping- Chinese Style

    We all know that one of the biggest challenges facing electric cars is the fact that recharging a battery pack is orders of magnitude slower than filling a gasoline car’s fuel tank. As battery packs have become more advanced, we’ve seen an increased use of rapid charging technologies, such as those found in the 2011 Nissan Leaf - but these are hardly quick when compared to a five minute gasoline refill. If you’re fan of electric cars you’ll probably already know about Better Place. Funded by venture capital, the company came up with another way of facilitating fast...

  • Better Place Israel CEO Moshe Kaplinsky displays the first electric parking lot in Israel.
    Bureaucrats Banish Better Place Because Charging Stations Aren’t Green

    Did you hear about the Danish town where everything has to be Green? No, neither did we - until just now. Enter Frederiksberg Town Council, which has vetoed the installation of electric car charging stations owned by electric vehicle charging company Better Place because they are the wrong color...

  • Better Place battery-swap demonstration
    Better Place Shows Off Europe's First Battery Switch Station

    Better Place has moved a bit further down the road in its quest to corner the electric vehicle market. In Denmark, the company has just unveiled Europe's first Battery Switch Station, which will serve as the cornerstone of Better Place's biggest real-world test to date. The grand event was held at...

  • Better Place battery-swap demonstration
    Better Place: First Battery Swap Station, Profit In 2 Years?

    Better Place, the ambitious program that's launching its electric-car service in Israel, opened its first battery-swap station there on Wednesday. At an event marking the opening, CEO Shai Agassi said the company would be profitable within two years of starting to provide mobility services to its...

  • Renault Fluence ZE production electric sedan
    Is There a Business Case for Electric-Car Battery Lease or Swap?

    As 2010 draws to a close, we now have shipments of the 2011 Nissan LEAF and the 2011 Chevy Volt to customers around the United States. With the advent of these vehicles, is there still a business case for Better Place? To refresh your memory, Better Place is the venture between Shai Agassi and...

  • Better Place Battery Switching Test, Yokohama Japan
    Want to Hail An Electric Taxi Cab? Head for San Francisco

    Urban taxi service may be the equal of any proving-ground torture test. Taxis are driven hard, up to 20 hours a day, and must handle both bad roads and bad drivers. Those that survive without falling apart should do fine in civilian duty. Which is why Better Place chose Tokyo to test out its...

  • Nissan electric taxi leaving Better Place battery switching station, Tokyo, April 2010

    This past Monday, the electric-vehicle infrastructure provider Better Place held a press conference in Tokyo at the site of its first completed battery-swap station to be put into regular usage, in the Ropongi Hills area. Together with Nihon Kotsu, Tokyo's largest taxi company, the company will test four fully electric taxis operating in regular duty in Japan's capital city for three months. Each cab racks up 170 to 180 miles a day over 18 hours of service a day. Modified Nissan crossovers The cabs are specially modified versions of the Nissan Dualis (sold in the U.S. as the 2010 Nissan Rogue...

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