Better Place sold for 9 million euros

The Israeli company Better Place has been sold for 9 million euros, after facing bankruptcy a couple of months ago. The company proposed a wider rollout of electric car technology and a novel battery swap system, although it found only one brand partner in its six-year electric venture, Renault.

Despite the fact that the sale could mean the end of its activities, nothing could be further from the truth. Better Place now has a second life, as it has been acquired by the Sunrise Group. This group is led by Yosef Abramowitz, the pioneer of electric motoring in Israel and one of the most fervent advocates of the electric car in that country.

The sale of Better Place has been approved for an amount close to 9 million euros. Half of that represents the acquisition of Better Place’s property rights, registered in Switzerland. Such an investment will prolong Better Place’s life, though not internationally, but only in Israel. The Sunrise Group will be obliged to keep operating around 15 charging stations under the Better Place name for a term of 2 years, and it will also continue selling electric cars.

It is not yet known whether the agreement will include the collaboration with Renault as in the past, but Better Place had sold fewer than 1,000 Fluence Z.E. cars in Israel and about 400 in Denmark. The bankruptcy came after the Israeli company failed to reach partnership agreements with several countries to deploy service networks for electric vehicles, and after it reported losses of almost one billion euros in 2012.

Via | Autoblog Green