It sounds like something straight out of the old Jetsons cartoons: drive your vehicle awhile, then stop at a station (one of many) to charge or replace the batteries that power your ride. If electric cars take off, that is just what may happen, as soon as the year 2011.

 

Replacing gas stations with battery stations is one of many new changes that would emerge if green-minded Israeli entrepreneur Shai Agassi realizes his dream of making electric cars ubiquitous on international roads.

 

Agassi, a 39-year-old former top executive for German software company SAP, is founder of Silicon Valley, CA-based Better Place Project, which is slated to manufacture electric cars and build the network of battery stations that would keep them running. Unlike hybrids, which combine gasoline with electric power, electric cars demonstrate zero dependence on precious fossil fuels. Agassi has partnered with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, former Israeli PM Shimon Peres, and major auto makers Nissan and Renault, among others.

 

Marketing professor Michal Ann Strahilevitz, PhD, is excited about Better Place and its plans to eliminate consumers’ dependence on oil. “Better Place is indeed a great example of brilliance plus chutzpah in pushing forward sustainability. Times are changing, and with efforts like this, times are in fact changing for the better,” she says.

 

“Agassi has proven that a combination of a brilliant idea, perseverance, creativity and having your heart in the right place can turn to an idealistic business plan into an inspiring reality,” Strahilevitz tells demo dirt. “Not just the kind of business reality you make money on, but the kind of business reality that can change the world for the better.”

 

The timing is perfect, as consumers are clamoring for easier ways to go green in all areas of their lives. But green consumers are not all alike, Strahilevitz, who teaches at San Francisco’s Golden Gate University, explains. “Consumers come in different shades of green. Very dark green (i.e., obsessively green) consumers will bend over backwards to reduce their environmental impact. They my go as far as to move closer to public transportation, sell their cars (to reduce the temptation to drive), recycle wherever possible, and work to convert their organizations towards more sustainable business practices,” the branding experts explains.

 

Dark green consumers are unusual. As going green has gone mainstream, more consumers have made eco-friendlier choices, but most are not prepared to make major sacrifices for the environment, meaning that more companies and brands are expected to make choosing green easier.

 

“Light green consumers are far more common. All things being equal, they would definitely rather do what is right for the earth, but they have bigger priorities. They choose the best job and the best neighborhood, and often those are neither close to each other nor connected by public transportation,” Strahilevitz says. “They don't want to have to sacrifice an enormous amount of time, convenience, comfort or money to do the right thing for the earth.”

 

What should companies keep in mind to reach this powerful consumer segment? “You need to give them a way to do what is right, without turning their lives upside down. This is where projects like Agassi's can move us leaps and bounds forward,” Strahilevitz explains.

 

Everyone will be a winner as a result of the electric car. “The only casualties will be the oil companies and others who profit from the world's current dependence on oil,” Strahilevitz says.

 

Notably, Idan Ofer, chairman of Israel Corp., a leading refiner of oil in Israel, has invested in Project Better Place, saying "If I didn't do it, somebody else will. What's the point of fighting something that's inevitable?"  and joking with a colleague, "I guess we'll have to sell the refineries."    (Business Week, “The Electric Car Acid Test,” by Steve Hamm, January 24, 2008).

 

Agassi’s Project Better Place is poised to make even bigger news. “You only have to ‘google’ Agassi's name to see that his latest efforts are far more newsworthy than anything he ever did at SAP,” Strahilevitz contends. “Why? In a media world full of far more bad news than good news, this is both huge and very good. This project is inspiring. Turns out, as a society, we actually do like to hear good news!”

 

For more information on Shai Agassi’s Project Better Place, go to http://www.projectbetterplace.com. Be sure to click on the video of the little kid. It is priceless!