Electric car firm ousts CEO, calls for $130m injection: Daily roundup

Electric car company Better Place has asked its shareholders for an immediate capital injection, following the ousting of chief executive Shai Agassi last week.

Sources estimate the company is seeking to raise $130-140 million. Its biggest shareholder is investment firm Israel Corporation.

Better Place’s cashflow problems have led to the capital request, with the company having $122.8 million in cash at the end of June with a balance sheet of almost zero. The company spent $104.1 million in the first half of 2012.

The company’s board of directors ousted Agassi last week and replaced him with Better Place Australia chief executive Evan Thornley.

New car sales jump

Sales of new motor vehicles in Australia rose in the month of September, beating analyst expectations, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

The ABS records 98,701 new cars sold in Australia in September – a seasonally-adjusted rise of 4.7%. The result compares to 93,379 in August.

In seasonally-adjusted estimates, sales of passenger and sports utility vehicles rose 6.5% and 4.3% respectively for the month.

The overall rise in sales was buoyed by a 23.4% spike in new vehicle sales in Tasmania.

This article was first published on LeadingCompany’s sister site, SmartCompany

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