People who own cars want to at least have the option of taking an extended road trip, which has been a major barrier to the success of electric vehicles to date. Limited driving range and long battery charging times are two challenges that EV industry leaders have been working furiously to overcome, and a company […]
Now tourists can try out Better Place swappable batteries. For $65 a day, electricity and battery packs included. Better Place, Israel’s controversial electric car network provider, has had its share of issues and adverse publicity which began to heat up after its iconic founder and international CEO Shai Agassi was sacked this past October. This act […]
Sixty percent of Morocco’s fuel reserves consists of petroleum and 23 percent of the country’s energy is derived from coal, according to the DESERTEC Knowledge Platform. Yet Morocco has to import roughly 96 percent of its fossil fuel, which is both costly and politically destabilizing. So it comes as no surprise that learning institutions around the North African […]
Cadillac’s 2014 ELR; a luxury plug in hybrid for only $55,000 Luxury cars, including biofuel driven gold Mercedes sports coups and sports cars like gold plated Porsche 997 GT2’s are often found in the garages of wealthy Middle East residents where price is no limit to luxury. These kinds of buyers who might want to […]
Not exactly the 2014 Corvette, this smaller and cheaper electric model may be popular for older purchasers and the eco-aware in the Middle East This past year, a lot of adverse publicity issues surrounded the Better Place electric car network company, that included the firing of its international CEO Shai Agassi. This was followed by […]
Is Better Place hiring a new CEO? In a surprising article in the Israeli business newspaper Globes today, Israel’s electric car network company Better Place seems to have lost its new CEO, Evan Thornley from Australia. This is after a short three months on the job. Thornley was put in place to start a recovery program […]
The Tel Aviv municipality is considering a plan to rent out small electric vehicles on a short term basis to cut down on air pollution, clear the roads and free up parking. Building on the success of its Tel-o-Fun bike sharing program and a similar launch in Paris, the city will send out an international […]
Israel’s electric car company Better Place is going to experience an overhaul, and will manage its existing resources in a new way, according to Evan Thornley, the company’s new CEO who just moved to Israel from Australia. Instead of focusing on selling Renault-made cars and charge plans to keep them juiced, the company is going […]
Better days for Better Place EV car company. Moshe Kaplinsky at the company’s first battery charge station in 2008. It seems things at Israel’s Better Place electric car company are going from bad to worse. Israeli news outlets are reporting that the company’s CEO Moshe Kaplinsky has quit, over disagreements with the company’s main shareholder […]
Investors still have faith in the Israeli-led Better Place electric car company. After the board fired its visionary founder and CEO Shai Agassi, and laying off half its staff in Israel last month the company has secured a $100 million investment. The company aims to reduce range anxiety of the use of electric cars by providing […]
Last month Israel’s Better Place rolled out their all-electric vehicle network to the Israeli public with much fanfare. Of the hundreds of civilians that bought the cars, warm reviews of excitement ensued. Pictures and photo ops were maximized. Since opening the car sales channel to the public the number of Better Place cars on the […]
Once Muzer Al-Kasas was able to collect all of the necessary materials, it only took him three days to build a small electric vehicle. Unlike Better Place EVs (which are now for sale in Israel) or any other fancy equivalents, the taxi driver’s inexpensive innovation is a slightly more viable means of transportation for a […]
After a test trial on about 250 cars Israel’s Better Place electric car company has opened its doors to the general public this week. Apart from announcing new pay-as-you-charge deals, instead of the off-putting flat rate, the company offers a new twist on the limited mobility of EVs: battery switch stations located throughout the country […]
An SSC Tuatara at 444km/hour or a Nissan Leaf? As Europe, North America and even Israel rolls out modest EVs and hybrid cars, they are a no-go for the luxury brand shoppers in the Gulf region. “Hybrid cars still can’t cut it in United Arab Emirates,” is the sub-heading sum-up of an article in this […]
Louis Palmer’s Solar Taxi went around the world in 2007 Swiss inventor Louis Palmer had what many referred to as an impossible dream when he said that one day, many of the world’s cars would not only be electric but powered by the sun as well. Palmer’s dreams are now on their way to becoming […]
Is the Better Place Renault Fluence worth EURO 27,500? The highly taxed Danes may think so. As we get closer to spring, we may also be getting closer to some actual launchings of electric car networks, including that of the much talked about Better Place EV company, headed by Shai Agassi, who recently remarked that […]
The Azouri brothers and architect Keren Yedvub leave no stone unturned. Their 20-storey “eco-tower” overturns the old n’ ugly world order with a building that is bold, beautiful, and deeply sustainable. The Azouri Brothers’ eco-tower is growing greener and greener by the day. Already featuring a whole host of attributes that make their 20 storey office building as livable […]
ETV’s micro- turbine device to extend the range of the battery cell packs to up to twice the present driving range of 130 -160 km. Public charging posts (like this one) may not be needed. The electric car innovation and development industries in Israel have not been sparing media hype to make people more aware […]
This guy (Maurice) will have to wait till 2012 to have an electric car Contrary to reservations being made about the Better Place electric car company being a monopoly in Israel’s upcoming electric car market, it now appears that the head of one of the country’s largest holding companies, the Israel Corporation, is very positive […]
EV’s phone home: While charging EV’s at home are most convenient, the Israeli EV company is going for a monopoly – making customers charge at Better Place installed outlets. By the end of 2012, electric cars will be a definite addition to the millions of cars that already ply the streets and motorways of our […]
With all the hype, 13 Better Place EV cars are finally being imported in Israel to test charge spots. They are being tested as taxis in San Francisco and Tokyo, and in Israel you can even test drive the battery-switchable fully electric (EV) car developed by Better Place/Renault. Within the next couple of weeks, Globes […]
Cars cause more greenhouse emissions than planes, Cleantechnica reports earlier this month. So while it may be important to offset and reduce our flying habits, Mike Granoff, head of oil independence policies at the EV company Better Place explores how his company’s switchable battery solution can reduce auto emissions today. Looking to the east, he […]
Tesla Model S Coupe: Expensive bang for your bucks. The Middle East can only drool for now. Tesla electric sports roadsters floated a successful IPO stock offering and are now tearing down the roads in European countries like Turkey, Hong Kong, Japan, and Canada. Still considered to be an expensive recreational toy due to its high price […]
Volkswagon Group, the world’s third largest car manufacturer is looking to Israel for cutting-edge technologies for its cars. We take a look at four technologies Volkswagon should consider. Image via Mike Babcock. Ynet is reporting that the Volkswagon Group, made up of SEAT, Skoda and Lamborghini and others, has hired an Israeli company founded by […]
They’re already going eco: Hanging the clothes to dry, naturally, in Hebron. Image via andydr Hebron (or Hevron) is a West Bank city run by the Palestinian Authority which is famous for being an ongoing powder barrel in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and an ongoing source of unrest between Israelis and Palestinians. But nowadays, when the […]