Better Place, the electric car infrastructure developer, is teaming up with Subaru-maker Fuji Heavy Industries and other Japanese carmakers, including Honda, on an electric vehicle project for the country.
The Japanese Ministry of Environment has invited Better Place to build a battery exchange station in Japan and engage with the country’s carmakers.
The project, which begins in the January 2009 and will run for 3-6 months, will see the first battery exchange station set up in Yokohama.
“We look forward to joining Subaru and other auto manufacturers in the project and demonstrating the feasibility of electric cars with swappable batteries to the rest of the industry,” commented Better Place CEO Shai Agassi.
Meanwhile, Better Place has unveiled its first charging spot in Israel in a cinema car park in Pi-Glilot. Public networks in Tel Aviv, Haifa, Kefar Sava, Holon, and Jerusalem are also being planned and installed.
The first charging spot marks a significant milestone in the transition to the mass use of electric vehicles in Israel, says Moshe Kaplinsky CEO of Better Place Israel.