Better Place may try an IPO within two years

Electric vehicle "miles" company Better Place will likely go public within two years to take advantage of what many expect will be broader electric-vehicle adoption throughout the world, Bloomberg News reported, citing an interview with company founder Shai Agassi last week.

Better Place will likely have one more private round of financing before filing for an initial public offering, Agassi told the wire service said. The company has raised about $750 million since its founding.

Better Place's concept – based on the cell phone industry model – is to lease charged batteries and charging time to motorists so they can drive an electric vehicle without also having to purchase a battery pack that could cost as much as the car. Cumulative sales of plug-in electric vehicles will reach 5.2 million vehicles in 2017, up from 114,000 vehicles last year, according to green-technology research company Pike Research.

Better Place last week started delivery of the first 100 Renault Fluence Z.E. electric cars to Israeli customers as part of the company's efforts to build out an electric-vehicle charging and battery-exchanging network throughout the country, and is planning on rolling out a similar network in Denmark