Step aside, hybrids. Electric cars go on sale in Israel

Could long lines at the gas pumps be a thing of the past for Israeli drivers? Better Place, the Palo Alto-based electric vehicle company run by Israeli Shai Agassi, is now offering customers the opportunity to pre-purchase the Renault Fluence Z.E., a vehicle that is 100 percent electric, completely gas-free and non-polluting.

Better Place opened the doors to its showroom Sunday and allowed interested customers to secure one of the vehicles in advance. The Renault Fluence Z.E. will arrive in Israel in January. It comes fully equipped with high-standard features, allowing it to rival other family sedans in its class. Each car is standardized with a built-in computer and smart navigation system.

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Using the Better Place switch battery system, the Renault Fluence Z.E. allows drivers to quickly swap the car's lithium-ion battery at designated battery exchange sites, allowing the battery to be swapped in less than five minutes. The “Quickdrop” battey switch system is expected to allow cars to travel great distances without interruption.

Better Place, whose research and development operations are located in Israel, has a brand-new showcase area at the Glilot junction, just outside Tel Aviv. The site spans 750 square meters and is built in a structure that, notably, once served as a massive gas tank.

The site contains a test-run driving track and space for high-tech vehicle demonstrations.

The Renault Fluence Z.E. costs 122,900 shekels ($33,000).

Better Place hopes to introduce its electric car and accompanying battery-swapping network to roughly 25 additional countries. Agassi was named one of Time Magazine's top 20 “Global Influentials” in 2003, and was also included in the magazine's 100 most influential people of 2009.

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