Better Place prices Renault Fluence at $38,400 in Denmark; battery pack extra *UPDATE

Renault Fluence Z.E. – Click above for high-res image gallery

The world’s first mass-produced electric car with swappable battery capability, the Renault Fluence Z.E., will stroll into the Danish market as the leaves hits the ground (i.e., autumn) in 2011. The vehicle will be offered toBetter Place subscribers who will then have access to a nationwide network of both conventional charging units and battery exchange stations. Unlike Nissan, Renault will offer its electric vehicles at a set price, while charging extra fees for battery rental. This approach makes up-front costs more appealing, but those monthly battery fees add up quickly.

The Ingenioren, a Danish news outlet, reports that Better Place has set pricing for the Fluence Z.E., but is still ironing out the monthly rental rates. Via some help provided by Google Translate – because mastery of the Danish language still eludes us – we find that the Fluence Z.E. should start at a base price of 205,000 Danish Kroner ($38,409 U.S. at the current exchange rate). Buyers can then expect to pony up somewhere in the neighborhood of 589 Kroner ($110 U.S.) per month for battery rentals fees. Better Place will also provide buyers with a home charging unit, which is apparently included with each Fluence purchase. Let’s reiterate, our understanding of Danish is non-existent, so any detailed interpretations of the article linked to below would be greatly appreciated. Hat tip to Dan F.!

*UPDATE: Our translation did indeed need help. Better Place contacted AutoblogGreen to say that it has not yet announced a subscription price for the battery. The 205,000 Danish Kroner price is accurate (and that includes VAT) but the 589 Kroner price is apparently based on Renault’s battery-rental price in the UK. A Better Place spokesperson wrote, “The providing of a charge spot as part of the car purchase is also a misunderstanding. In the Danish text both aspects are pretty clear.” Renault’s official website says:

The family sedan Fluence Z.E. will be launched first in Israel (1st semester 2011) and then in other countries. Prices in Europe will start at a price of approximately €26,000 (depending on the local VAT rate). Prices in France will start from €21,300 with the €5,000 tax incentive deducted. Customers will also subscribe to a monthly lease starting from €79 (including VAT) to cover the battery.

AutoblogGreen

=> Better Place prices Renault Fluence at $38,400 in Denmark; battery pack extra *UPDATE.

GE and Better Place Partner to Accelerate EV Infrastructure Deployment; Integrating GE WattStation with Better Place Services

GE and Better Place have formed a technology and financing partnership to accelerate the global deployment of electric vehicle infrastructure through collaboration in four key areas: standards-based technology development; battery financing; joint fleet electrification programs; and consumer awareness.

The partnership combines GE’s global scale, broad technology portfolio, smart grid expertise, and its new WattStation Level 2 electric vehicle charger (earlier post) with Better Place’s EV services and infrastructure solution.

Our collaboration with GE is another significant step forward for Better Place as we seek to assemble a formidable ecosystem of industry leaders including Renault, HSBC and now GE that can help us scale our model globally. Our team of partners is committed to accelerating the acceptance of electric cars as more affordable and more convenient than our gasoline heritage.

—Shai Agassi, Founder and CEO, Better Place

The partnership includes collaboration in four areas:

1. Standards-based technology: GE’s WattStation will be compatible with the Better Place service network. This partnership will allow consumers that manage charging costs under Better Place’s network to charge their vehicles using GE’s WattStation.
2. Battery Financing: GE and Better Place will develop a battery financing program that begins with a pilot project to finance 10,000 batteries in Israel and Denmark, which are the first two markets for Better Place. This financing will further drive the early EV market in those countries, helping to bring the first 10,000 electric cars to consumers there.
3. Fleet Electrification: GE and Better Place are collaborating to target fleet owners for pilot projects to test a comprehensive fleet electrification offering model in major city centers and connecting highways. The goal is to convert corporate fleet owners to electric fleets, so owners reap both the economic benefits of lower cost of ownership as well as reducing harmful carbon emissions.

   Target pilot locations include cities in North America, including the San Francisco Bay Area, Honolulu, Hawaii, and Ontario, Canada, as well as cities in Europe, Asia and Australia. Better Place is already working towards initial network deployments in these markets, beginning in 2011.

4. Consumer Awareness: Better Place and GE, as part of its ecomagination initiative, will focus on raising consumer awareness to understand the economic and environmental value of widespread adoption of electric transport and the infrastructure that is needed so make that level of adoption a reality.

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=> GE and Better Place Partner to Accelerate EV Infrastructure Deployment; Integrating GE WattStation with Better Place Services.

Is Chery designing an electric jeep for Better Place?

In reporting on a $350 million funding round for Better Place, we said that we doubted another automaker besides Nissan-Renault is building vehicles that would work with the company’s battery-swapping system. Might a report in Globes prove us wrong? According to the Israeli business news site, the “Chinese media” has disclosed that the Chery-Quantum joint venture (a 50 percent stake of which is held by Israel Corp., Better Place’s chief investor) is designing a compact electric jeep at a studio in Milan code-named T21. Said jeep would have a “double floor” that will accommodate a swappable battery they suggest may use cells from A123 and generally resemble a small version of the Chery Tiggo. Got all that? Is it true?

While we finally had to admit defeat in finding a Chinese media outlet discussing a creature exactly as described by Globes, we did find reference to a T21. From what we can tell from those reports, the T21 is not a jeep and not electric. Heck, it’s not even designed in Milan. According to the Chinese media sites (via Google translate) that we checked out, the T21 is actually a compact SUV dubbed the Chery Tiggo 5 (pictured above), designed in Turin, that had been axed but is now being put back on the menu. Now, perhaps there is a stone out there big enough to hide a jeep under that we left unturned but all signs seem to point this Better Place battery-swapper to be non-existent, though if you can prove otherwise, we’d be happy to hear about it.

As far as we know, plans are still in place for Chery to sell some eco-friendly cars, beginning with the electric S18 (though it may now be called the Riich M1 EV) as early as this June. And its batteries don’t swap.

AutoblogGreen

=> Is Chery designing an electric jeep for Better Place?.

Better Place Secures $350M Series B Round led by HSBC Group

Better Place, the global provider of EV networks and services, has signed an agreement with an HSBC-led investor consortium for new equity financing of $350 million. The deal marks one of the largest single clean tech investments and values Better Place at $1.25 billion. The announcement comes almost two years after Better Place announced its first car partnership and its first country deployment in Israel.

The capital will have three primary uses, said Shai Agassi, Better Place CEO, in a webcast of the announcement this morning: (1) to complete the R&D on the solution, the trials and development effort to get the system up and running by the middle of next year; (2) Better Places’ contribution toward its operating companies in Israel, Denmark and Australia; and (3) opening up new markets and new countries, with a focus mostly on Europe and Asia.

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=> Better Place Secures $350M Series B Round led by HSBC Group.