Livni

well right now haifa and tel aviv muni's (maybe as election gimics) have "signed an mou" to have electic car points throughout the cities and they got the same tax breaks here, but maybe it will go even faster in denmark because they have wind turbines that generate electricity all day, so at night they have surplus electricity which can go towards charging cars at night, while here we still dont have renewable energy sources to charge the cars. so it could go faster over there.

also haifa muni. is making a new law to give free parking in the city to hybrid cars, dont ask me how they will implement it..
(so the rich who can afford hybrids and save on gas, save also on parking.. makes sense ha?)

lets hope with electric cars mass produced it will catch on, become cheaper, after all hybrid cars still use gas.
I cant wait to have an electric car it would save thousands of nis every year for every family.
I just dont understand what the U.S is waiting for, they had electric car prototypes and thet could have done it 10 years ago.

Livni

Japanese firms cast doubt on electric car
"Batteries in electric cars are liable to catch fire during a journey."
Dubi Ben Gedalyahu 12 Jun 08 10:40

Although it is thought to be the leader and standard bearer for the development of electric cars, Japan's automobile industry does not actually believe these cars are likely to dominate the market in the near future.
Toyota, which launched its electric car as far back as 1997, and is closer to developing technology for mass production of electric cars than any other company worldwide, has steadfastly refused to join the electric car bandwagon. In 2010, the company is set to launch the next generation of hybrid cars, which will be fitted with advanced lithium ion batteries made by Panasonic These batteries can recharged on power points in the home. The cars will be able to travel tens of kilometers on electrical power only, although they will still have a gasoline engine that can take over if and when the batteries run down.

In a comprehensive report published recently by Japanese daily "Nikkei", Toyota officials are quoted as saying they do not believe that the current battery technology, and the technology that will follow it in the next few years, is reliable enough to power an electric car on its own without a back-up gasoline engine, with a level of efficiency and usefulness approaching that of a hybrid car.
Japanese battery producers quoted in the report also cast doubts on whether the necessary technology will become available over the next 20 years. "Lithium ion technology still faces several serious problems," said a senior official from one of the battery makers. "One of them is overheating during regular use to the point where there could be a risk of fire breaking out. It will also take quite a long time to build a recharging infrastructure for widespread use."

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - Globes [online] – business and technology news from Israel - on June 12, 2008

TalB

Globes [online] – business and technology news from Israel
Better Place partner Nissan mulls own electric car project

Better Place itself also seeks to operate in Japan.

Dubi Ben-Gedalyahu 18 Jun 08 18:54

Japanese car maker Nissan is examining ways of setting up a charging infrastructure for an electric car in Japan. The company is looking for business models that will help it overcome the problems of marketing electric cars. Nissan will supply the electric vehicles and batteries for the Israeli "Better Place" project, but it is carrying out its current market research independently, with no connection to the Israeli company.

Reports in the Japanese press say that Nissan has begun the project in collaboration with the University of Tokyo and commercial companies. The project will involve dozens of Japanese companies, from battery manufacturers to real estate and infrastructure companies. It aim is to overcome the problems that currently prevent widespread use of electric vehicles. Among these problems are the cost of the batteries, which is almost as high as that of the vehicle itself, and setting up infrastructure for fast battery charging.

Nissan will also examine the possibility of leasing out the batteries separately from the cars to make the cars cheaper to buy. The leasing model is a key component of Better Place's plan. Japan is one of the countries in which Better Place is trying to implement its business model, and Nissan's independent project, if it comes to fruition, will compete with it in the future.

Nissan is also participating alongside Subaru and Mitsubishi in a Japanese government project sponsored by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry to promote electric vehicles in Japan. The project includes field trials for charging stations, examination of new models for insurance, and finding ways of promoting the idea in the media. However, the planning stage of the government project is scheduled to take until 2015, while Nissan has committed to putting electric cars on the road this year.

Mitsubishi has also announced that, next year, it will launch a compact electric car that it is developing. Senior Mitsubishi managers said however that the car would initially be offered only to vehicle fleets and under operating leases. Towards 2010 the cars will also be offered to private customers, still under operating leases, with ownership being retained by the company.

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - âìåáñ òéúåï ëìëìä ùì éùøàì - çãùåú ëìëìä - áð÷éí - áåøñä - îè"ç - îããéí - îéãò òñ÷é - äù÷òåú - ùå÷ ääåï - ðãìï - òéúåï òñ÷éí - éãéòåú ëìëìä - - on June 18, 2008

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Globes [online] – business and technology news from Israel
Israel Corp. injects more cash into electric car project

The company will invest up to $100 million in Project Better Place.

Sharon Baider and Dubi Ben-Gedalyahu 30 Jun 08 09:34

Israel Corp. (TASE: ILCO) is to inject a further $15.5 million into Project Better Place, the electric car project headed by CEO Shai Agassi.

In an announcement to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange this morning, Israel Corp. said it would inject cash in accordance with its share of the project. This is in addition to the $7.5 million that it has already invested in it.

The company said it would invest up to $100 million in the venture. This follows a presentation to the Israel Corp. board of the Better Place budget, including milestones and a fund-raising plan.

Vehicle industry sources said that the amounts invested in the project so far were fairly small compared with its planned scale. Most of the investment to date is apparently slated for assembly of a fleet of available electric cars that will be used to demonstrate and test the feasibility of the concept among private and government sector customers in Israel and other countries.

Project Better Place plans to launch a pilot with a few cars in Israel by year-end, and expand to several dozen more cars during 2009. The pilot will precede final development of regular electric cars by the Renault Nissan Alliance. The cost of each demonstration model, such as the Renault Megane that will be assembled in Israel is estimated at $80,000-100,000, of which $40,000 is for the car's special batteries.

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - âìåáñ òéúåï ëìëìä ùì éùøàì - çãùåú ëìëìä - áð÷éí - áåøñä - îè"ç - îããéí - îéãò òñ÷é - äù÷òåú - ùå÷ ääåï - ðãìï - òéúåï òñ÷éí - éãéòåú ëìëìä - - on June 30, 2008

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2008

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Globes [online] – business and technology news from Israel
Agassi presents Congress with US electric car figures

"We can put in place the infrastructure needed to power the nation’s cars and end this oil dependence."

Dubi Ben-Gedalyahu 1 Jul 08 13:39

"For the price of two months worth of oil, some $100 billion, we can put in place the infrastructure needed to power the nation’s cars and end this oil dependence," Project Better Place CEO Shai Agassi told the House of Representatives Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming at a hearing last week. He added, "Of that $100 billion, moreover, some $80 billion will go into jobs that, by their nature, can only be performed in the US - the construction of the infrastructure itself."

Agassi added, "For the price of one year’s worth of oil, some $500 billion, we can go even farther - creating fully renewable electrical generation sufficient to power all of the nation’s vehicles. In so doing, we will again create jobs that can only be performed in this country, and we will give a much broader stimulus to the renewables energy market."

Agassi noted that the operating cost of an electric car, including the depreciation of the battery, is cuurently about six cents per mile, while the average American - getting 25 miles per gallon and paying $4 per gallon - is paying 16 cents per mile. He explained that a car getting less than 25 miles per gallon will cost even more - drivers in Europe pay two to three times that amount. He added, "Based on this infrastructure alone, of the average 2.6 cars per US household today, there is no reason that one of them can’t be all electric for use on every trip of 120 miles or less."

Agassi told the committee, "We are in active discussions with more than 30 other countries, and with dozens of regions, provinces, states and large cities. Many of those discussions, both in the US and globally, are well advanced."

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - Globes [online] – business and technology news from Israel - on July 1, 2008

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2008

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