BETTER PLACE GOES TO CHINA

Better Place in China deal
John Reed, April 25, 2010 (UK Financial Times)

"Better Place, the electric car infrastructure company, has announced its first deal with a carmaker in China, potentially the biggest future market for battery-powered cars…[It] signed a memorandum of understanding…with Chery Automobile, China’s biggest independent carmaker, to develop prototypes for electric vehicles to be used in regional state-sponsored pilot projects.

"The cars will have switchable batteries that can be removed and replaced with recharged ones at swap stations of the type Better Place is building in countries including Israel and Denmark."

From btrplc via YouTube

"Better Place believes that electric vehicles will be accepted on the mass market only if its batteries can be decoupled, making the cars cheaper and easier to drive on long trips...Chery displayed an electric version of its Riich G-5 sedan incorporating a switchable battery at…[the] Beijing auto show.

"The deal makes the Chinese company the second carmaker after France’s Renault to sign up to the US company’s unorthodox business model, which many rival carmakers doubt will be widely adopted…"

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"…[Better place is beginning] a “proof” project showcasing the technology in Japan…[F]our Tokyo taxis [will] travel for 100 days, stopping only three times a day to have their batteries swapped

"In January, Better Place raised $350m in one of the biggest venture capital financings ever for a 'clean tech' company…"