IEVS: How NIO Changed My Mind On EV Battery Swapping

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Tom Moloughney: https://insideevs.com/news/392660/nio-battery-swap-loved-by-customers/


It works. They love it.

I have never been a big fan of battery swap for EVs. When Better Place started out I thought they might have a chance to succeed if they got more than one OEM to buy into it (they didn't - only Renault agreed to make a car that could use the service) and if they first concentrated all of their assets in Israel, a relatively small country where they could thoroughly cover the whole country rather easily (they didn't do that either and spread themselves too thin).[

So when I heard that Chinese EV startup NIO was going to be offering battery swap services to their customers, I was left scratching my head a bit. It seemed like an enormous investment that attempts to solve problems (long charging times and limited range) that are rapidly going away. . . .
Click to expand...


I've long been a fan of battery leasing and swapping, the main difficulty being getting enough companies to sign on. Nio's going it alone, but it seems to be working for them in China, where almost no one in an urban area can charge at home, and charging takes too long for many people even if it's available.
 
Except that it seems like they're bleeding cash badly and are on the ropes. I'd posted a bit about that over at https://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=26375/.

Will they still be around in a few years?
 
cwerdna said:
Except that it seems like they're bleeding cash badly and are on the ropes. I'd posted a bit about that over at https://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=26375/.

Will they still be around in a few years?
Click to expand...


That's the problem, although how much of that is due to swapping and how much to being a startup, I couldn't say.
 
Oilpan4 said:
Seems like the made in China version of fenix
Click to expand...
If you're talking about Fenix Systems... umm... no. At least Nio has working products that they've been manufacturing for awhile in the hands of real customers and fancy showrooms.

Unfortunately, CBS put their 60 Minutes story behind a paywall: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/electric-cars-chinas-drive-to-dominate-the-industry-60-minutes/ and https://www.cbsnews.com/video/electric-cars-chinas-drive-to-dominate-the-industry-60-minutes/ but this brief piece isn't https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhpQ6TEGpZ8.

If you subscribe to CBS All Access (like to watch "The Picard Show" or ST:D), you can see it.
 

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