Death of Better Place: Electric car co. to dissolve

The Better Place electric car company, once the very symbol of Israeli green innovation, filed for bankruptcy on Sunday asking the Lod District Court to dissolve the company.

“Despite significant efforts over that time frame, revenues are still insufficient to cover operating costs, and in the light of the continued negative cash flow position, the Board has decided that it has no option but to seek to make this application to the courts for an orderly liquidation of the company,” the company announced.

“This is a difficult day for all of us,” said Better Place CEO Dan Cohen. Despite its innovative vision and accomplishments, he said, the company was not financially viable. “Unfortunately, after a year’s commercial operation, it was clear to us that despite many satisfied customers, the wider public take up would not be sufficient and that the support from the car producers was not forthcoming.”

Better Place captured global attention with the vision of creating an electric car network, building an electric and battery infrastructure to rival standard oil and gas stations. The board ousted its visionary founder Shai Agassi late last year, as the company’s financial losses racked up.  In the following months, the company cycled through a series of CEOs, and discontinued its global activities to focus on making the company successful in Israel. ‘

Despite a handful of hopeful signs, the company failed to get a footing in the car market.

“The technical challenges we overcame successfully, but the other obstacles we were not able to overcome, despite the massive effort and resources that were deployed to that end,” the Board of Directors said in a statement. “The vision is still valid and important and we remain hopeful that eventually the vision will be realized for the benefit of a better world. However, Better Place will not be able to take part in the realization of this vision.”