Frequently Asked Questions

Firstly, electric cars have no exhaust pipe, so there are no tailpipe emissions. Better Place has a 100% renewable energy commitment, so if you have an electric car run on the Better Place network, you will be driving with zero emissions. We have signed a deal with ActewAGL to provide our Canberra network with 100% renewable energy and we will be signing similar agreements with other energy utilities as our network rolls out around the country.

Electric cars will be made in all sizes like petrol cars. There are electric sports cars that do 0 to 100 in 3.8 seconds. There will be electric SUVs and people movers and family sedans and delivery vans made by major car companies around the world.

Yes. They are able to hit similar speeds a petrol car and actually take off a lot faster than a petrol car, because maximum torque is provided as soon as your foot hits the accelerator.

Better Place supports production vehicles that are compliant with the relevant local and international standards for electric charging. This is a decision that was made after working closely with the independent testing lab, TUV Rheinland. This approach ensures our technology integrates with the high standards that are required of production vehicles, and provides charging that meets those stringent requirements.

Most electric cars on the road now have a range of about 160km. The Renault Fluence Z.E. has a range of 185kms (NEDC combined cycle).  However, our battery switch solution ensures unlimited range. The customer will top up their battery whenever they are parked, and when on a longer drive they will simply swap out their depleted battery and swap in a fresh one at a Battery Switch Station.

We will carry a diversity of battery formats to meet the needs of all of our customers.

No. There are no current plans to publicly list the company.

Fixed batteries can only be recharged by plugging them in. To extend a journey beyond the range of a fixed battery will be inconvenient. Even with quick charge systems, this typically takes 30 minutes to recharge to 80% capacity. This is OK as a back-up system, but it won’t be convenient in most circumstances.

The battery is the most expensive component of an EV. When they’re fixed in the vehicle, it means the cost of the car overall is higher than it needs to be. Mass adoption will occur sooner if electric cars are of comparable price to a petrol car. Electric car owners with fixed batteries will also face the risk that the battery will be a lemon or may be quickly outmoded - this exposes them to a high degree of risk. With battery switch this ownership risk is removed from the electric car owner.

Australia was selected because it is such as big country. The Better Place solution is entirely scalable and a large country like Australia can demonstrate this well. There is a common misconception out there that electric cars are small and only to be driven short distances by people living in the inner city. It is actually drivers who spend the most on petrol that will benefit from the electric cars in the first instance: large, powerful cars that drive long distances.

The bulk of petrol consumed in Australia is by people who live in the outer suburbs, who drive long distances and have hefty annual petrol bills. Additionally, Australia has a domestic car industry, a car industry that is in trouble, and could really benefit from being at the forefront of the new generation of driving. Australia knows how to make large, powerful vehicles. It has an opportunity to be the world leader in building large, powerful electric vehicles, which will facilitate zero emissions driving.