RENAULT-NISSAN’S electric car

Israel charged up over electric cars

By JTA

article created on:

TEL AVIV (JTA)—Israel is positioning itself to lead the world into the age of the electric car.

With $200 million in funding from private investors and support from the Israeli government, Shai Agassi is laying the groundwork for Israel to become the first test case for the gasoline-free electric car.

His California-based company Project Better Place is planning to establish a network of battery-recharging areas across Israel by 2011. Renault-Nissan will begin introducing electric cars to Israeli as soon as next year.

The Israeli government has pledged to offer significant tax incentives for buyers of electric cars.

The cars will run on lithium-ion batteries provided by Project Better Place. They should last for about 124 miles before needing to be recharged. This should suit the typical Israeli driver, who drives fewer than 45 miles per day. For longer trips, battery swap stations will serve as a safety net, the company said.

Renault-Nissan will be the first to bring its electric cars to Israel.

For now, the recharging stations will run mostly on coal and oil. By contrast, in Denmark—which signed on to the project after Israel—power stations are fueled at least in part by wind power.

Car owners will not own their expensive batteries. Those who purchase cars will pay monthly fees based on their expected mileage. Cars will be recharged both via plug-in charge units at malls and parking garages, and some 100 battery replacement stations along highways, where batteries will be replaced for longer journeys.