Is the battery swap model for electric vehicles back? Which will have the last laugh, charging or battery swap?

In 2013, Tesla demonstrated that it could replace the battery of a Model S in 93 seconds. However, as the test progressed, the time became 5 minutes. Due to the high cost of battery replacement and the difficulty in popularization, Tesla gave up this service. In 2017, NIO also made a similar demonstration on the ES8.

On July 5 this year, BAIC New Energy's first private battery-swap model, the EU quick-swap version, was officially launched. At the same time, the vehicle-battery value separation business model for the private market was also announced.

China has tried the battery swap model before. In 2011, the State Grid formulated a smart charging and battery swap network operation model with the basic idea of ​​"battery swap as the main, plug-in charging as the auxiliary, centralized charging, and unified distribution" as the business model, and carried out a battery swap pilot in Hangzhou.

But it eventually disappeared. There were many reasons why the battery swap model failed.

For OEMs, third-party battery swap stations need to clarify the product technical standards of each OEM, which involves the need to maintain consistency in the performance of battery products, which will affect factors such as battery life that are considered core competitive advantages.

The battery storage space and charging equipment of the battery swap station are expensive, occupy a large area, and require a sufficient number of service vehicles. The high cost of the operation model was difficult to be accepted by the market at that time.

Individual consumers were not convinced at the time. On the one hand, they were worried that battery replacement would damage the vehicle structure. On the other hand, they were uncertain about the quality and safety performance of the replaced batteries.

The private battery swap model is exiting the market not because of backward or obsolete technology, but because the market is not yet mature, making the operating model difficult to maintain.

Compared with the current mainstream charging mode, the battery swap mode will have an advantage in improving the convenience of energy replenishment.

The battery swap mode improves the efficiency of energy replenishment. BAIC New Energy and NIO focus on 3-minute battery swap, which is far more efficient than the time cost of charging.

High-density laying can save users the cycle of battery replacement. According to Weilai's plan, in 2020, it will build more than 1,100 battery swap stations across the country and deploy more than 1,200 mobile charging vehicles. In key cities, the number of battery swap stations will reach one every 3 kilometers, which will basically solve the problem of power replenishment during travel.

The battery swap model can save parking spaces and improve the degree of social intensiveness. The parking space of a battery swap station is 21 square meters, while a battery swap station is only 200-300 square meters.

The battery swap model also has a positive impact on the use cost of electric vehicles.

In the past, the core of new energy vehicle consumption was battery cost. Consumers had to purchase 100% of the battery, but in the entire vehicle life cycle, the battery only contributed 20%-30% of the value.

In the battery replacement mode, users can use the form of leasing batteries for energy replenishment, which has certain advantages in reducing the cost of car purchase. For example, NIO users can directly reduce the car price by 100,000 after choosing the battery leasing plan for full purchase.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.