Electric car company, Better Place, announced today that it is launching an electric car trial in Japan, starting with city taxis. Three cars began a 90-day trial in Tokyo that could eventually lead to the city's entire fleet going electric.
Better Place is the electric car company founded by Shai Agassi and based on a business that is similar to what you might have with your cell phone service provider. With a phone, you buy a plan that gives you the necessary minutes you need each month to get by. With Better Place's electric car, you buy a plan to gives you access to a network of charging spots and battery switch stations.
On the company's blog, Kiyotaka Fujii, president for Better Place Japan and head of business development for Asia Pacific writes:
The taxis developed for this demonstration are able to drive through our battery switch station, exchanging a depleted battery for a fully charged one in less time than it takes to fill a tank with fuel. This allows the EVs to run continuously, which is an absolute necessity for taxis.
According to this article in Business Week, each car can run about 190 miles on a charge. And so far there is only one battery switching station in Tokyo for the three test cars. Should the program expand and accommodate the 60,000-cab fleet,Tokyo would need 300 battery-switching stations.
Agassi's ambitious plan to get the world off oil is starting to take shape. And switching to electric cars is one way Japan could reach its goal of reducing CO2 emissions 25 percent by 2020.
Image: Better Place
Tags: Electric Cars, Transportation, Transportation Infrastructure, Vehicles and Equipment
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