Experience Centres key: BetterPlace
Bums on seats will sell electric cars says infrastructure companyBetterPlace will use bums on seats to plug consumers into electric cars. That's the inside word from the electric car charging infrastructure specialist.
Building on early learnings from its Israeli and Danish trials, the company is planning demo sites to give Australian consumers hands-on experience of electric cars.
BetterPlace calls the facilities 'Experience Centres'. It claims it will build centres in all key Australian metro markets in the lead up to its roll out of charge point and battery swap infrastructure.
BetterPlace Marketing Director Andrew Carroll told the Carsales Network the centres were a key foundation of the company's marketing plans.
"Getting consumers to experience electric cars firsthand is the most important thing we can do," Carroll said.
"It's not just about getting the [prospective electric] car buyers in to drive the cars. It is also about getting to those who influence those buyers. In the case of fleets it's not just fleet managers that need to experience the cars but a wider range of staff."
According to Carroll, BetterPlace is still to finalise its detailed plans for the centres. It's likely though that Canberra will be the first ahead of the company's ACT installation and trail scheduled for mid-2012.
Carroll said the organisation's Experience Centres in Israel and Denmark had already been successful. The Israeli set-up features a self contained test drive area while in Denmark newcomers were encouraged to drive the electric vehicles on public roads.
He said BetterPlace Australia was still to make final decisions relating the model for local Experience Centres.
The first Renault ZE electric sedans to arrive Down Under in mid-2012 are earmarked for BetterPlace's use. A video of the Renault ZE with BetterPlace's drive-switch-go battery technology is available for viewing below.
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