Trailblazing Israeli electric car company to close
Source: AP-Excite
By JOSEF FEDERMAN
JERUSALEM (AP) - It was an audacious idea that came to symbolize Israel's self-described status as "Start-Up Nation," a company that believed it could replace most gasoline-powered cars with electric vehicles and reduce the world's reliance on oil - and all within a few years.
But it all came crashing down.
The company, Better Place, started out as a source of pride and a symbol of Israel's status as a global high-tech power, but it suffered from a local brand of hubris and overreach. On Sunday, it announced plans to liquidate after burning through almost a billion dollars and failing to sell its silent fleet of French-made sedans to a skeptical public.
"This is a very sad day for all of us. We stand by the original vision as formulated by Shai Agassi of creating a green alternative that would lessen our dependence on highly polluting transportation technologies," the company said. "Unfortunately, the path to realizing that vision was difficult, complex and littered with obstacles, not all of which we were able to overcome."
FULL story at link.
Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20130526/DA6H7GAO1.html
In this Sunday, Feb. 7, 2010 file photo, an electric car is seen during a demonstration of the California-based company Better Place in Tel Aviv, Israel. Better Place announced Sunday, May 26, 2013, that it is shutting down, less than six years after unveiling an ambitious plan that promised to revolutionize the auto industry by reducing the world's dependency on oil. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit, File)
Rosa Luxemburg
(28,627 posts)I would have thought that Israelis were more green-minded and loved electric cars. However, there is a pressure everywhere from the oil companies to trash electric.
philly_davis
(1 post)Israel - home of the people who hate Arabs but love Arab oil.
SunSeeker
(51,646 posts)From the article:
...
Agassi, a former top executive at software maker SAP, became a celebrity CEO. He was a central character in "Start-Up Nation," a best-selling book about Israel's high-tech industry, he was named to Time Magazine's list of the 100 most influential people in 2009 and became a fixture at international conferences such as the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
tinrobot
(10,913 posts)Sorry, I just had to...
Their business model was always a tough one - swapping out large batteries means creating a lot of infrastructure for the swapping stations plus a large capital investment for spare batteries (which currently cost about 10 grand each.)
I think Tesla has a better road to success with larger batteries and fast charging. Hopefully their vehicle costs will come down as they amortize their initial R&D.
Puzzler
(2,505 posts)EVs in the article:
"Sales of Nissan's all-electric Leaf grew 22 percent around the world last year to 26,000, short of Nissan's projected 50 percent growth."
Better scrap the Nissan Leaf, eh? Only 22% growth.