6 days Ago
This simple but powerful idea—replacing a drained EV battery with a fully charged one—is called battery swapping. Though it's still not common globally, China is leading the way in making it more mainstream.
China Leads the Way
Globally, battery swapping is still new. But China has developed the most advanced system so far. The technology is already common in electric heavy-duty trucks, with nearly half of those sold in 2023 using this method. Now, battery swapping is slowly being introduced for passenger cars as well.
The EV company Nio has built over 3,300 swap stations across China. Meanwhile, CATL, the world's biggest EV battery maker, has teamed up with Sinopec, a major oil company, to create a nationwide battery-swapping network.
One of the main benefits of this technology is speed—it takes far less time than regular EV charging. But challenges remain, especially as China's fast-charging infrastructure is also growing rapidly.
Why Battery Swapping?
According to Daizong Liu from the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP), battery swapping addresses "range anxiety," a common concern among early EV users. In the past, few charging stations meant long delays. Battery swapping offered a quick fix.
Interestingly, this idea isn't new. It was first tested more than a century ago, long before modern EVs existed. In 2007, Better Place, a company from Israel, tried to revive it in Israel and Denmark. Despite raising nearly $1 billion, it shut down in 2013 due to low customer interest and lack of carmaker support.
Around the same time, Tesla also launched a battery swap plan for U.S. routes but dropped it by 2015 due to low demand.
China's Unique Push
China's State Grid began researching this tech in 2006. Instead of revamping the power grid, battery swaps allowed charging to happen off-site and during off-peak hours. In 2013, there were only 500,000 EVs on China's roads. By 2023, that number had grown to 16 million pure electric vehicles and another six million hybrids.
There are now 8.6 million EV charging points in China, with over a third installed just in 2023. Plug-in EVs still dominate, but battery swapping is gaining ground. In 2021, China started a pilot program in 11 cities. By 2023, it had 3,570 swap stations, including 1,600 new ones added that year.
However, not all EVs can use swap stations—only those with compatible battery designs. So far, most users are taxis, buses, and logistics vehicles, not private car owners.
Competing with Fast Charging
Chinese automakers like BYD, Xpeng, and Nio are developing EVs that support 800V ultra-fast charging, allowing batteries to reach 80% in 15 minutes. In March 2025, BYD introduced a new system offering 400 km of range in five minutes, twice as fast as Tesla's superchargers. The company plans to set up 4,000 flash-charging stations across China.
By 2026, more than 13 million vehicles in China are expected to support high-voltage fast charging. Liu points out that such advancements are helping ease range anxiety. In 2024, China accounted for nearly two-thirds of global EV sales (17 million units), showing how serious it is about reducing oil dependency and becoming a green tech leader.
Ownership and Standardisation Issues
One major issue with battery swapping is that drivers don't own a specific battery. So if someone swaps a brand-new battery, they might get an older one in return. To fix this, some companies separate the cost: customers buy the car but rent the battery.
But this model puts financial pressure on automakers who must manage large battery inventories. Another roadblock is the lack of a universal battery design, making it harder for automakers to cooperate. Many prefer to keep control over their own battery technology.
Even when battery swaps are fast, other problems can cause delays. A Nio driver shared that in suburban areas, he once missed a meeting due to a lack of available charged batteries.
Why It Works for Trucks and Taxis
For commercial vehicles, battery swaps make more sense. Trucks, taxis, and buses have fixed routes and centralized management, making it easier to plan battery changes. Lulu Xue from the World Resources Institute explains that removing the battery from the truck's price can make it as affordable as a diesel truck.
In 2021, China's Hainan Province offered a 15% subsidy for battery swap station investments. China can do this efficiently because it already leads in battery manufacturing, making batteries cheaper and easier to source.
But swap stations need large spaces and a lot of electricity, especially in busy urban areas. Some companies are working with energy providers to overcome this, while others are experimenting with mobile swap units, which charge batteries where electricity is cheaper and then swap them elsewhere.
Real-World Feedback
For drivers, experiences vary. One Beijing taxi driver uses both charging and swapping options. His company requires at least one battery swap a month, but he says he prefers to wait to keep a good battery. Also, swaps are often more expensive than charging.
Sometimes, drivers receive batteries with poor performance. Swap station workers report that unhappy drivers occasionally threaten to call the police, though the staff has no control over battery quality.
Xue says a solid business model now exists for short-range commercial trucks in areas like factories and mines. Researcher Yihao Xie adds that even as charging tech improves, swapping still offers a faster solution for trucks with large batteries.
Energy Storage and Global Potential
Battery swaps could help more than just vehicles. Liu and Xue say swap stations can be used as energy storage hubs to support renewable energy like wind and solar. Some estimates say 100 swap stations could offer as much energy storage as a 50MW power plant.
Other countries are starting to explore this technology too. India launched a swap policy in 2022, with states like Maharashtra working with Gogoro on a $2.5 billion project. Kenya partnered with swap company Spiro in 2023. In the U.S., Ample is testing battery swap tech with Uber and Stellantis, and also expanding into Japan.
What Lies Ahead?
While battery swapping may remain limited in China's mature EV market, it could be a game-changer in places where EV adoption is still low. China's growing EV exports may also bring the battery swap idea to other parts of the world.
And even in China, battery swapping still has a role to play—especially as plug-in hybrids are growing faster than pure EVs, showing that fast and flexible energy access remains a top concern for drivers.
As Nio's slogan suggests, battery swap stations could become the new gas stations—but whether they'll reach that level of adoption is a question only time will answer.
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