Better Place

  • Facelifted 2013 Renault Fluence electric sedan

    The Better Place battery swapping saga continues, as partner Renault has delayed the roll-out off its electric Fluence sedan. Renault Australia announced the indefinite postponement, as it waits for Better Place to establish a broader and more practically viable network of swapping stations. Car Advice reports that Australia's battery-swapping service was set to roll out during 2012, but hold-ups in the company's home markets of Israel and Denmark have backed up the Australian introduction. That could mean delays of another six to 12 months down under. Spokeswoman Felicity Glennie-Holmes...

  • Better Place battery-swap demonstration
    Better Place Hires Marketing Guru Peter Economides To Buff Its Brand

    Given soothsayers' record on end-of-the-world predictions, this probably won't be humanity's last year on Planet Earth. But for the folks at electric car start-up Better Place, 2012 has brought more than its share of doom and gloom. The biggest downer came in October, with the firing of Better...

  • Better Place Battery Swap Station
    Better Place Trouble Continues As Latest CEO Quits

    Only a month after Better Place founder Shai Agassi was replaced as CEO of the company, current CEO Moshe Kaplinsky has also departed the troubled firm. Better Place, whose corporate model allows electric car owners in Israel, Denmark and Australia to have their car's entire battery swapped at...

  • 2012 Renault Fluence ZE electric car, powered by Better Place in Israel [photo: Brian of London]
    Better Place Electric-Car Service: Few Users, More Turmoil

    Much publicity, high hopes, and hundreds of millions of dollars have been devoted to the Better Place electric-car service. Now, with an apparent dearth of Israeli customers to sign on the dotted line, the company is turning over its management. Deputy CEO departs The latest defection is deputy CEO...

  • Better Place Battery Swap Station
    Coda, Better Place Team Up To Make SF Electric Taxi Fleet

    Back in 2010, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency was awarded a $7 million regional grant to oversee a fleet of 61 electric taxi cabs, complete with four battery sapping stations. Two years later, neither the taxi cabs, nor the battery swap stations have been launched. According to...

  • Renault Fluence ZE electric cars in Israel, provided by Better Place [photo: Better Place]
    Shai Agassi Out As CEO Of Better Place Electric-Car Service

    Shai Agassi, founder of Better Place, which provides electric-car services to customers in Israel, is no longer CEO of the company, the firm has confirmed. In an official statement posted earlier today, the company said that Agassi has been replaced by Evan Thornley, previously CEO of Better Place...

  • 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...

  • Onstar Hopes To Make Charging Chevrolet Volts Greener
    2013 Chevy Volt, OnStar, Is Smart-Grid Ready: The Utilities Aren’t

    Imagine a future where plug-in cars not only know when the cheapest time to charge is, but also work in concert with utility companies to recharge when it is greenest or when grid power demand is the lowest. For years, automakers, charging station manufacturers, utility companies and even the U.S...

  • Holden Commodore (VE Series II)
    Electric-Car Distance Record: 1,172 Miles In 24 Hours (With Battery Switching)

    What can be done to dispel the assertion that the relatively short range of electric cars isn't suitable for most drivers? Well, you can either drive around in one yourself, displaying a lack of problems as you drive between work and back each day like millions of other drivers, and encourage...

  • 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...

  • 2013 Holden Volt with Better Place Charge Spot and executives from both companies
    Strange Bedfellows? Project Better Place Pairs With GM Australia

    Better Place is now rapidly ramping up the first full deployment of its electric-car service and battery swapping network in Israel, but the company has ambitious plans in other countries as well. In Israel, it's illegal for electric-car users to plug their cars into just any old wall socket. They...

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

    After five weeks driving a Better Place electric car in Israel, I'm gaining a deeper insight into the company's plans. The Better Place annual subscription model, including service and support, costs more than the U.S. practice of buying an electric car outright and charging it at home. How customers feel about this subscription payment rests on how good the extra service is. Looking back on the entire process of evaluating and buying the car, it is difficult for me to fault Better Place on customer service. I've never come across a car company that followed up and wanted to hear from me...

  • Renault Fluence ZE charging at Better Place charge point in apartment bldg [photo: Brian of London]
    What's The Real Cost of a Better Place Electric Car in Israel?

    Since buying my Better Place Renault Fluence ZE in Israel, I'm frequently asked about the price. I bought the car because I liked the way it drove and thought it would save me money. I had been looking for a new car, but had no intention of buying a green model as such. I was quickly satisfied that...

  • 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...

  • 2013 Smart ForTwo Electric Drive (European version)
    Would Battery Leasing Ease Sticker Shock On Costly Electric Cars?

    There's no getting around it: Hybrids cost more than gasoline models, and plug-in electric cars cost a lot more than gas vehicles. Each type of green car cuts operating costs, either by raising gas mileage substantially or replacing gas costs with grid electricity that generally cuts the...

  • Better Place Battery Swapping
    Better Place Battery Swapping: The Technology Behind The Idea

    Last week, we shared with you our first-hand experience of driving an electric car through a Better Place battery swap station in Israel. Publicly, especially outside of Israel, Better Place’s concept of switching out depleted electric car battery packs for fully charged ones at its...

  • Better Place Battery Swap Station
    Better Place Electric-Car Battery Swapping: Live Report

    Electric-car infrastructure firm Better Place has spent the past few years creating some serious waves in the electric car world with grandiose claims that it can make electric cars as convenient to use as gasoline ones. Alongside its fully integrated smart-grid network of charging stations...

  • Better Place Battery Switching Test, Yokohama Japan

    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 possible. If an electric-car owner with no other vehicles also has to make occasional longer trips that exceed the range of the battery, there are two options today: DC fast charging en route or battery switching. Battery switching is within weeks of being a reality for private electric-car drivers in...

  • Renault Fluence ZE electric cars in Israel, provided by Better Place [photo: Better Place]
    Electric-Car Battery Swapping: What Do You Want To Ask Better Place?

    If you’ve followed electric cars for a while, you’ll probably be familiar with the concept of swapping out a depleted battery pack with a freshly-charged one in the same amount of time it takes to fill a car with gasoline. Better Place, the first company to try and commercialize that...

  • Renault Fluence ZE electric cars in Israel, provided by Better Place [photo: Better Place]
    Does Better Place Have A Monopoly On Electric Cars In Israel?

    The electric vehicle world is watching the rollout of Better Place's electric-car network in Israel with interest, but some have asked whether Better Place has an effective monopoly on electric cars granted by the Israeli Government. Better Place says its service and its cars compete with gasoline...

  • 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...

  • Hawaii
    Will Hawaii Become Paradise For Plug-In Electric Cars Too?

    Hawaii is a beautiful state with warm tropical weather, but it's also an expensive place to drive despite the limited travel distances on each of its islands. Fuels have to be brought in by ship, and its gas prices ($4.45 a gallon this week) are some of the highest in the U.S. All those factors...

  • better place battery switch station 015
    Video Shares Better Place Electric Car Battery Swap Experience

    Less than a month ago, electric car infrastructure firm and battery swap specialist Better Place started deliveries of all-electric Renault Fluence Z.E. cars to customers in Israel. In the past, Better Place has explained the basics of how its rapid battery swap stations work, but what’s it...

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