The above may seem a bit long, but it is a fascinating tale of how Shai Agassi convinced heads of car companies and countries to adopt electric car technology. The former president of products and technology at SAP AG, Shai Agassi is now the founder of Better Place, an organization purpose-built to drive the adoption of electric cars worldwide.
Deride China and their goods all you like – they just put a black eye on the entire auto industry by making the first mass production and road-ready electric car. The move comes from a former battery company that transformed itself into an automaker, BYD. Their name stands for “Build Your Dreams”.
The cars will be available in the US and Canada only when the company can meet safety standards. The car will sell for $22,465.00 US, roughly the same price as current mid-range automobiles.
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway company recently invested in a 9.9% stake in the company. BYD aims to be the world’s largest car company by 2025 and they are certainly off to a good start.
A $1 Billion dollar project is planned for San Francisco in order to install a charging grid for electric cars. 
The company incentive funded project will be put in place by a company called “A Better Place” in partnership with Renault-Nissan. They will distribute the cars under a subscription based program which will offer the cars at a discount and people who purchase them will subscribe to a certain number of miles.
Better Place hopes to expand the plan to Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego and the three highways connecting the Bay Area and the Los Angeles area.
I want one of these suckers so badly but it’s illegal to drive them in Canada.
The ZENN (zero emission, no noise) car is 100% electric. Made in Canada this little 2 seater is sold in the US, Mexico and EU but Transport Canada has yet to approve it.
What’s the hiccup? Find out here:
www.cbc.ca/national/blog/special_feature/green_rush/zenn_car_update_1.html