The press is starting to take note, now, and write about the positive stuff Better Place owners have been saying for ages. In today’s Jerusalem Post environment reporter Sharon Udasin has a detailed interview with me:
Pulling out of the Better Place battery-switch station at Saharov Gardens on his way to Jerusalem on Sunday morning, British immigrant Brian John Thomas lamented the news circulating about the Israeli electric car company’s decision to close.
“I personally feel very sad that it hasn’t been made to work,” he told The Jerusalem Post from his car speakerphone.
“I feel disappointed in the timing of, for example, when Shai [Agassi] left. I think that massively affected sales at a critical time.”
“The concept and the execution that customers experience on a daily basis is excellent beyond words,” he said. “It really is something amazing to see how happy all the customers are.” Thomas, who purchased his Better Place Renault Fluence ZE just over a year ago, explained how the company’s fall speaks to the “massive failings” of Israelis to warm up to electric vehicles in general. While Toyota importers have recently started to bring in the plug-in version of the Prius, other popular plug-in electric cars like the Chevy Volt and Nissan Leaf have failed thus far to make it to Israel – despite the fact that their battery ranges would be sufficient for many drivers here, Thomas said.
“The importers of cars in this country are dead set against electrification,” he added.
And I do like the last quote I got in at the end:
“We all took the car for different reasons but came to realize that we had a Mercedes level car for less than a Mazda and the service was outstanding.
Something way beyond the normal in Israel.”
Thomas added, “It really wasn’t about saving money: It was about driving and feeling good about driving again.”
