Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer Nio has officially launched Battery as a Service (BaaS) for customers in China where they are able to swap out batteries of their EVs.
It means BaaS users can purchase a car without the battery, making EVs more price competitive against existing powertrains, while also providing the flexibility to change battery capacity depending on their needs and pay accordingly. In addition, BaaS also represents a systematic solution to the long-existing challenges for EV penetration, including battery degradation, battery upgradability, and lower resale value.
BaaS is based on NIO’s innovative battery swapping technologies and national network of 143 Power Swap stations and services. NIO has already obtained more than 1,200 patents related to battery swapping and completed over 800,000 swaps for users. Recently, China’s first national electric vehicle battery swapping standard, of which NIO took the initiative in drafting together with China Automotive Technology & Research Center (CATARC) and other OEMS, has been approved, promoting the development of battery swapping technologies and services. This is further enhanced with the 2020 policy of national NEV subsidies that favor battery swapping technology.
With the battery price not included in the vehicle sales price, nor in the finance payments, the costs are significantly lower to switch to an EV.
