Electric car venture Better Place LLC, which in the past did not hesitate to announce to the Israeli public its intentions to become a dominant player, maybe even the most dominant, in the local car market, has recently toned down its statements of intention, as the company hunkered down in response to commotion about concentration in the economy.
But it seems that the cautious attitude being shown domestically was forgotten during speeches overseas, where Better Place's activity in Israel is being described as a wild success and an example of the company's global potential. Last week, Better Place CEO Shai Agassi spoke in San Francisco at the APEC Transport/Energy Ministerial Meeting to key decision-makers from the energy and transportation industry.
Agassi mentioned forecasts based on China's five-year plan: the number of cars in the world will jump by hundreds of millions over the next five years, which will cause a huge rise in the demand for, and the price of, oil, to as much as $147 a barrel. Agassi presented the idea of battery replacement, and then described operations in Israel.
"Israel currently has a "charge and go" network that enables the charging of electric cars at home and at work. There are "robots" (battery exchange stations) all along the highways, which cover the whole country. There will be 55 such stations, four stations for every 160 km of highway. The cost for building the entire network is $150 million, which is equivalent to six days of gasoline usage in Israel." This figure refers to the investment by Better Place and its shareholder, Israel Corporation (TASE: ILCO).
Agassi said, "Israelis can take a car that is priced less than a Toyota Corolla, is better than a Toyota Camry, has unlimited capability, and is faster than an Audi A6. Most Israelis want such a car. This is a car that is mass produced in a factory with a production capacity of 450,000 cars a year. 460 companies and organizations in Israel have already agreed to switch their fleet to be 100% electric within the next four years. We are talking about 85,000 cars, or about half the number of cars Israelis buy in an average year. At this rate, electric cars will have the highest sales within two or three years."
This is without a doubt an amazing vision, but it provides live ammunition in real time to the Zelekha committee, whose mandate includes the sentence, "increasing competition in the field of electric cars." Yaron Zelekha has not hesitated to confront Israel Corp. head-on.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on September 20, 2011
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