EV Promoter, Renault Partner Better Place Collapses

Better Place Inc. the global developer of electric vehicle battery rental, swapping and rapid recharging networks filed a petition in Israel on Sunday to liquidate.

Better Place's court filing says it has a cumulative loss of $812 million (€628 million), assets of $10 million (€8 million), debt that includes $40 million (€31 million) owed to suppliers. Non-equity partner Renault SA says it is owed €65 million as a secured creditor.

The Tel Aviv-based company says it has raised some $750 million (€580 million) in private capital since it was founded in California in 2007 to create "a green alternative" to reduce the world's dependence on "highly polluting" transportation. Better Place touted an ambitious plan to open extensive battery charging networks in Israel, Denmark and Australia, then quickly expand in Europe, China and the U.S.

The company partnered with Renault five years ago to develop a network of facilities to recharge batteries or quickly swap the entire battery pack of the French carmaker's Fluence Z.E. electric cars.

But EV sales never lived up to Better Place's rosy forecasts. The Israeli company and Renault have sold a total of only about 1,300 EVs in Israel and Denmark.

The startup replaced founder and CEO Shai Agassi last October, vowing to scale back its scope and shift its focus from building infrastructure to selling more EVs. A new fundraising initiative stalled.

Conglomerate Israel Corp., which owns about 30% of the company, and Renault say they rejected recent appeals from Better Place for a capital infusion.