Q&A By Robert Gluck
With Sidney Goodman of
CHARGED: Please tell our readers a little bit about Bet-
us to join the mission. We know that we’ll be successful by being true to the vision and mission that he created.
SIDNEY GOODMAN: Better Place aims to displace
CHARGED: What is the mission of Better Place? The automotive alliances group?
Photos Courtesy of Better Place
ter Place and why you got involved with the company.
petrol-based kilometers with electric kilometers by making electric cars more affordable, more convenient and more sustainable than today’s internal combustion engine technology. We separate ownership of the electric car and the battery and treat the battery as a consumable and as part of the necessary EV infrastructure. In our model, consumers buy an electric car just like they would normally buy an ICE car, but rather than filling up at the pump each week, they pay for a package of mobility services from Better Place at a fixed price. They also don’t pay for the battery as that’s our investment. In return, they get unlimited access to our entire network of charge spots and battery switch stations as well as an inventory of batteries to use. It basically makes owning and driving an electric car cheaper and more convenient than owning an ICE car and paying more and more at the pump each week. I’ve been with Better Place since the very beginning. I’ve known our Founder and CEO Shai Agassi for years, and I helped Shai with the business plan for Better Place. CHARGED: We’ve heard much about Shai Agassi, the founder and chief executive officer of Better Place. Please tell us a little about Agassi.
SG: Our mission is to enable the entire world to go electric. We see an enormous opportunity to switch the world from oil-based personal transport to electric transport. My team plays a critical role in our mission as our core function is to court and manage our relationships with car manufacturers. Renault, which has been a great partner, will produce the world’s first switchable battery electric car, the Fluence Z.E., later this year. CHARGED: How do you see the world right now in terms of where we’re at with electric vehicles? SG: What’s clear is that nearly all of the OEMs around the world have an EV strategy. That wasn’t the case 3-4 years ago. What’s also clear is that major markets like China are becoming a gravity center around EV that will influence the rest of the world. China, for example, recently named EVs as one of seven industrial pillars in its most recent five-year plan. When China goes electric everyone else will follow.
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SG: Shai is a natural born leader and brilliant visionary. It’s his vision that created Better Place and compelled many of
When China goes electric everyone else will follow.
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