The Rogue (Picture courtesy of Better Place®)
A company named Better Place has a better idea about car ownership in a post-oil world.
Here’s the concept:
You pay for the electric vehicle (like the Renault-Nissan Rogue shown above) .
They pay for (and own) the $11,000 battery. And the network of charging stations. And the switching stations where customers can swap their nearly empty battery for a full one on long trips.
Under this scenario, you’ll buy the car in the usual way. But all the costs associated with powering the vehicle will come in the form of a pay-per-mile contract. The concept is familiar to anyone who has a pay-per-minute cell phone contract. The cost to the consumer pencils out at a point well below what gasoline-powered drivers currently pay.
(Last December, Better Place has forged a partnership under Hawaii’s Clean Energy Initiative, to help the state meet its goal of getting 70% of its energy from renewable sources, including solar, by 2030.)
