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Better Place has delivered the first 100 electric cars taking
part in its high-profile battery swap scheme for Israeli customers.
Four years after former SAP director Shai Agassi announced
it would begin its first commercial operation in Israel, the
company handed over the keys of the Renault Fluence Z.E. cars
as part of the first step in a staged rollout across the country.
Better
Place plans to target fleet owners initially, with
deliveries to the general public beginning in the second quarter
of 2012 as recharging infrastructure across the country is
completed. In 2010, Better Place claimed to have 92 companies
signed up, including Motorola and Computer Associates, with
a combined target to roll out 45,000 cars.
About 200 battery-swapping and recharge stations are due
to be installed in Israel to cater for the cars, which can
travel about 140 miles before the battery needs to be replaced
or recharged.
"The first wave of electric cars is the ultimate proof that
the change is here," Moshe Kaplinsky, chief executive of Better
Place Israel, said in a statement.
Next on the list for the fast-expanding Better Place is Denmark,
while early-stage plans for an Australian network are also
in the pipeline. In addition, the company last year opened
its first showroom in China.
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