Tel Aviv To Test Electric Car Sharing System

If there is any country sensitive to dependence on unfriendly oil-producing nations, it is Israel. For the Jewish nation, alternatives to oil are vital to its long-term survival hopes. So there is a lot of buzz around the incorporation of a car sharing system in Tel Aviv that could see car companies like Renault pitching a vision of an oil-free Israel.

While no particular system has been set in place, the French have a hand up in their efforts as they’ve already started a car-sharing system in Paris. Renault would most likely put their cheap, affordable, and practical Renault Twizy up as a potential contender for car sharing.

Renault is also a major partner in one of Israel’s premiere electric car projects, the battery-swapping Better Place. If Better Place and Renault could convince the politicians that battery swapping and car-sharing is a perfect marriage, it’d be a big win for the hard-hit EV innovator.

But Renault might want to go it alone, pushing its own vision of EV car sharing. In Paris, Renault now rents out Twizy EVs, swapping it out for a fully-charged version when the battery gets low. While it reeks a little bit of big brother, in Israel the need to get off of the oil standard has never been greater. Should an extended war hit the area, Israel would likely take to extreme oil rationing, making everyday life difficult for the average citizen.

Mass adoption of EVs would go a long way towards easing the burden on citizens, but can car sharing and EVs work together? Is the demand there?

Source: The Truth About Cars