Electric vehicle infrastructure company Better Place opened a visitors’ center in
Denmark yesterday, and announced pricing for the rollout of its service plans.
Visitors can place an order for an all-electric Fluence
Z.E., made by Better Place partner Renault (RNO.PA), and sign up for a
Better Place subscription of mobility services–packaged for consumers, fleet managers and
the public sector.
The consumer price for the Fluence Z.E. is EUR 27,496 ($US
38,300), making it more expensive than the Nissan Leaf, but less pricey than
the Chevy Volt or Coda sedan.
But what makes Better
Place unique is their battery-swapping service. Customers in Denmark have a
choice of five, fixed-price, packages based on kilometers driven. For drivers
who drive more than 40 kilometers per year, Better Place offers a fixed-price
package of ‘all you can drive’ kilometers for EUR 399 per month (US$556).
For drivers who drive fewer than 20 kilometers per year, the
fixed monthly price offer ranges from EUR 199 to EUR 249 (US$277 to $349).
Each subscription includes the installation of a EUR 1,341
home charger. It also includes electricity usage and unlimited access to the
Better Place network of public charge spots and battery switching stations.
To own the car in Denmark for five years would cost EUR
50,095, according to Greentech Media-a price that is reasonable in the country,
where ownership of gasoline-powered vehicles is heavily taxed.
Better Place plans to launch similar services in Israel,
Australia and San Francisco, but gave no additional details about the timing or
pricing in these markets.
Initial delivery of the Renault Fluence Z.E. in Denmark will
occur in the fourth quarter of this year.
Better Place and partner DONG Energy are working to leverage
Denmark’s 20% energy production from wind turbines to charge the electric
vehicles with clean energy.
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