"Last January, I bought an electric car from Better Place for NIS 70,000," Guy told “IDF Radio" (Galei Zahal) in response to the electric car venture's announcement that it will petition the courts for liquidation. "I had two main considerations: the quality of travel and the economics. I used a car which cost me NIS 2 per kilometer, and I now pay NIS 0.60 per kilometer. I save NIS 1.40 per kilometer."
Guy added, "I am sure that it will continue operating the battery replacement. There's a contract and contractual commitment to continue providing the service in any case. If the replacement stations stop operating, drivers will be limited to a range of 120 kilometers."
Guy, a resident of Tiberias, said that he greatly enjoyed Better Place's service. As for the battery replacement, he said, "I had no problem going anywhere. I travelled to the Golan and Kiryat Shomona, and I have friends who drove to Eilat. The system works perfectly."
As for Better Place's liquidation, Guy said, "I believe that this will continue to exist because the solution is simple, correct, and perfect. I don’t understand why the owners aren’t continuing to invest. If they used the car like I do, they'd think differently. After all, sales growth is exponential: they sold 80 cars in January and 200 cars in May.
"I have no intention of selling the car. I've never such a good car, and I've owned expensive cars. There are no breakdowns, it is reliable. There were a few things which had to be replaced, but you go to the garage and it replaces them."
Earlier in May, Hamashbir 365 Holdings Ltd. (TASE:MSAH) announced an agreement with Better Place to sell the Fluence ZE electric car to the department store's Club 365 customer club at special terms. Hamashbir CEO Assaf Ben-Dor said today, "We were surprised that Better Place has come to the end of the road. We had no hint that it was closing. Since Friday, I've been trying to reach Better Place executives, and I haven’t obtained answers. We've stopped the campaign because of the uncertainty."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on May 26, 2013
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