Making Electric Cars Sell Like Cell Phones
by Karin Kloosterman, Jerusalem, Israel on 11.23.07
Shai Agassi has electrified the Israeli government and also the world. The entrepreneur has proposed that Israel – and everyone else (no less) – adopt his new vision: marketing electric cars like cellular phones.
Instead of investing big bucks in a new car, Agassi has developed a business plan and company (Project Better Place) modeled after the cellular phone business – where the more an owner uses a car (measured by hours at a recharging station) the less the vehicle will cost to buy.
Agassi aims to create a new infrastructure that will support vehicles on a country-by-country basis to jump-start the mass adoption of electric cars.
“We have crossed a historic threshold where electricity and batteries provide a cheaper alternative for consumers,” said Agassi in a statement... "Existing technology, coupled with the right business model and a scalable infrastructure can provide an immediate solution and significantly decrease carbon emissions."
The Israel government has recently given a vote of confidence in support of his dream.
In order to succeed, some 500,000 refueling stations will need to be built in Israel; and for long trips greater than 200 km, Agassi proposes a robotic system that will replace the battery with a charged one.
Since the cost of a battery can be anywhere from $10, 000 – 20,000, the idea includes leasing batteries to users for a monthly fee. Compared to the average $250 a month Israelis spend on gas, Agassi’s planned costs will make oil barons nervous: fuel costs, he predicts will amount to about $80 a year.
"Instead of investing big bucks in a new car, Agassi has developed a business plan and company (Project Better Place) modeled after the cellular phone business – where the more an owner uses a car (measured by hours at a recharging station) the less the vehicle will cost to buy."
Sounds like a bad model. This will encourage drivers to max their use of their vehicles to make sure they use their allowance of watts. This will maximise congestion and power consumption. What we want is a system that discourages both. A "pay as you go" system where the user pays full price for their handset/vehicle and for each minute of airtime/mile would better achieve that. Better still would be a system where we are all subscribers to a service that allows us to rent cars for short periods like the bike rental services springing up in Paris and elsewhere. Then you wouldn't have cars clogging up the streets all day while their owners are working.
I would think that LiIon battery's and ultra capacitors will make quick charging a far more likely event than a battery replacement.
Why couldn't an electric vehicle become a hybrid by adding on a generator trailer? Many DIY's have done this and proven it to work.
well its a start but why build all new stations just add to the regular station then you can have an options of gas and electric until every one can get a electric car they never say were all this electricity will come from all the cars should have solar devices on them so you wont have to stop and charge as often
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Karin's comment: refuelling stations for electric batteries will need to be much more plentiful than cars that run on regular fuel. Electric batteries take hours to recharge -- thus it is expected the stations will need to be at convenient locations while at work and on the road: supermarket parking lots, hotels, at work etc...
MINIMUM requirements for a electric car that everyone would buy:
200 mile range
fits 4 adults
10 minutes or less charge time
goes 80mph
this idea might not be the best one, but i like the fact that there are people out there that are thinking of newer ways to improve the way we drive and improving our enviroment.
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