CNA – Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker Nio Inc began trial operation yesterday of faster, more efficient battery swapping stations in China in its push to make battery swapping a viable alternative to rival EV makers’ rapid-charging technology.
Storing up to 21 battery packs each, Nio’s Power Swap Station 3.0 can speed up battery swapping to less than five minutes and lower the service cost per swap, Nio senior vice president for power management Shen Fei told reporters at an event in Shanghai.
Tesla’s rapid-charging Supercharger allows EV users to top up vehicles to a range of 200 miles in 15 minutes.
Battery swapping allows drivers to replace depleted packs quickly with fully charged packs, rather than plugging the vehicle into a charging point. Swapping could help to ease the strain on power grids when drivers recharge, but analysts and executives expect it would only become feasible if batteries become standardised.
