A Better Place With Local Hybrids & GoGet

Lend Lease Ventures’ investment is an endorsement of the Better Place model for an electric vehicle future, while Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has launched the first Australian-built hybrid car at Toyota’s plant at Altona, west of Melbourne, and Australia’s leading car share business GoGet is adding 50 more cars to its Sydney fleet.

GoGet, the Sydney based car share business, is excited to announce that it’s adding 50 cars – yes, 50 – to the fleet in December, just in time for Xmas!

Message from GoGet latest newsletter:

The 50 cars will be spread out across the Sydney network, so keep an eye out for them. We’ll let you know as they become available for booking.

And this month, you can find out how to “buy” someone a car for Xmas, or book one for a whole month at a much lower rate than car rental. We also unveil our 60 second GoGet video and we think we have found the youngest person to travel in a GoGet car!

Source: www.goget.com.au
ABC News reports:

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has launched the first Australian-built hybrid car at Toyota’s plant at Altona, west of Melbourne.

The new Toyota Camry has a 2.4-litre engine and an electric drive motor. It will produce 30 per cent less emissions than a regular car.

Mr Rudd was joined by Victorian Premier John Brumby and around 2,000 Toyota executives and staff to see the first pre-production car come off the assembly line.

Mr Rudd says production of a hybrid Camry will contribute around $90 million to the Victorian and South Australian economies.

“More than 50 hybrid-unique parts will be sourced from local suppliers,” he said.

In June last year, the Federal Government announced that it would allocate $35 million from its Green Car Innovation Fund to support the development of the Camry; it is expected that up to 10,000 hybrid cars will be produced each year from next year. The Victorian Government also committed to making a financial contribution to the project.

The Prime Minister says the manufacture of hybrid cars will help Australia cut its greenhouse gas emissions.

“It’s good for the economy, it’s good for jobs and it’s good for action on climate change,” he said.

He says the outlook for Australia’s car manufacturing industry is bright.

“This is the beginning of a whole new era in Australian motoring,” he said.

“Australia is one of only about 15 countries around the world that design, engineer and build a car from scratch, and that’s an important achievement for our country.”

Australia is the fifth country to produce a hybrid car after Japan, the US, China and Thailand.

Source: www.abc.net.au

Better Place Australia this week announced it has secured an initial round of funding of $25 million for its planned charging and services network for electric vehicles (EVs).

The funding round was led by Lend Lease Ventures, the venture capital arm of Lend Lease and included investments by ActewAGL and several private investors.

As the lead seed round investor in Better Place Australia, Lend Lease Ventures will also take a seat on Better Place Australia’s board.

Better Place Australia also today announced that global banking leader, Harrison Young will join its Board as independent Chairman. Mr. Young is currently a member of the Board of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia and the Court of Directors of the Bank of England, Chairman of the Howard Florey Institute Foundation and Deputy Chairman of the Asia Society AustralAsia Centre and Asialink. Mr Young was Managing Director and Vice Chairman of Morgan Stanley Asia from 1997-2003 and Chairman of Morgan Stanley Australia from 2003 until he joined the board of the Commonwealth Bank in 2007.

The $25 million in funding represents the first part of Better Place Australia’s five-year plan to raise $1 billion for the deployment of an EV network powered by renewable energy in Australia. Macquarie Capital Group acted as advisors on the fund raising. This initial round of seed funding will finance a range of planning, engineering, demonstration and trial activities in the lead up to the first stage of deployment, which will commence in Canberra in 2011.

“We’re delighted to welcome Lend Lease Ventures as an investor in our Australian business – working with us to help the country take a generational leap forward toward oil independence and sustainability,” said Shai Agassi, Founder and CEO, Better Place.

“The investment marks our second successful financing in 2009, and we believe it’s indicative of growing interest in Better Place from institutions and far-sighted corporations seeking thematic investment opportunities to fight climate change.”

Evan Thornley, CEO of Better Place Australia, said that Lend Lease Ventures’ investment is another in a growing list of endorsements of the Better Place model for an electric vehicle future.

“The backing of a strategic investor of the calibre of Lend Lease Ventures, our Canberra deployment partner, ActewAGL and some of Australia’s most successful business people is further validation that our plans are appealing to our industry partners and seasoned investors alike. The appointment of a respected business leader in Harrison Young as Chairman adds to the strong endorsement we have received from leaders in the energy, auto and oil industries who have also joined our senior management team in recent months.”

Chief Executive Officer of Lend Lease Ventures Anthony Pascoe said of the partnership, “Significant investment in new renewable energy generation combined with the commercialisation of new technologies and infrastructure solutions are critical to achieving Australia’s renewable energy targets.”

“Lend Lease Ventures’ mandate is to invest in emerging clean-tech companies that complement our global property capabilities and help keep the wider Lend Lease group at the leading edge of the curve in terms of sustainability. We believe that Better Place Australia is well positioned for success and are excited to be partnering with such an innovative and well credentialed organisation.”

Better Place, the leading electric vehicle services provider, is accelerating the global transition to sustainable transportation. Better Place is building the infrastructure and intelligent network to deliver a range of services to drivers, enable widespread adoption of electric vehicles, and optimise energy use.

The Better Place network addresses historical limitations to adoption by providing unlimited driving range in a convenient and accessible manner. The company works with all parts of the transportation ecosystem, including automakers, battery suppliers, energy companies, and the public sector, to create a compelling solution. Based in California and privately held, Better Place has operating companies in Israel, Denmark, and Australia.

Source: www.betterplace.com