Better Place Best Practices

Company Background

Better Place was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Palo Alto. The company is creating and deploying electric vehicle (EV) services, systems and infrastructure across the world. Better Place plans to first launch its services in Israel in 2011, followed by Denmark, Japan, Australia, United States and Canada. For the past 2.5 years Better Place has been in the process of developing EV charge spots, switching stations and software with a strong emphasis on consumer needs.

Product Development Mindset

In an interview with a Better Place representative I learned that Better Place is attempting to offset consumer’s aversion to change by taking an extreme focus on familiarity needs. Better Place is asking people to take a large leap of faith on a technology that many view with some skepticism. By taking on such a mammoth task the company has realized along the way that they must take an extremely focused approach on ease of use for the consumer. This focus on customer needs is reflected in the creation and design of the Better Place Switching Station seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKA4GhVn0a4&feature=player_embedded.

Switching Station Product

The company has decided to create the switching station in order to allow those users who want to drive long distances without recharging at a parked charge spot to have the ability to drive longer and further. In discussing the need for this service, I learned that Israel is roughly the size of New Jersey and that an overwhelming majority of Israeli drivers do not drive far enough in one day to exhaust an EV battery’s charge. However, Better Place recognized that the handful of days out of the year when a driver will actually drive 100+ miles in a day will be at the forefront of consumer’s minds when they are deciding to buy an EV and find there is no solution for rapid charging on the go when the battery is dead. This thought process bred the creation of the idea of a switching station where EV drivers can drive into a car wash-like structure and swap their low charge battery for a fully charged battery. Since the switching station is essentially a substitute for the petrol car’s gas station, Better Place went to a considerable effort in designing the switching station in such a way that it can complete the battery switching process and get the driver back on the road in 80 seconds. Since buying an EV vehicle and opting into the Better Place network requires a behavioral shift on the part of the consumer, Better Place wanted to make sure the process of switching the battery was as easy, if not easier, than filling up your car at the gas pump.

Switching Station Product Development

In developing the concept and design of the switching station, Better Place has taken a number of steps to build their product. Initially the company came up with the idea of building the switching station by observing the status quo and driver’s expectations around driving. The company refined the product by enlisting the help of a small pilot group of Israeli drivers in Jerusalem to take part in testing their products and services. Participants in this pilot program have played a large role in determining the customer needs for the switching station. In addition, Better Place identified the heaviest users of switching stations to be taxis and has agreed to a partnership with Tokyo’s largest taxi operator to test a switching station in Tokyo to help refine the product specifically for their biggest target customer.

-Brent Perez