There’s a couple thousand in China for Nio, but they haven’t really taken off anywhere else.
By contrast there’s over 1.8 million public EV chargers in China alone.
Batteries are heavy, which makes them hard to move and requires secure attachment to the vehicle. EV chargers have no moving parts and require much less maintenance.
Swappable batteries are a giant headache, charging is better.
Batteries are lasting longer and longer, LFP are already able to last 20 times as long as typical lithium ion, while using less cobalt.
Modern EV tech is still relatively new. It took combustion cars a long time to get to present day longevity and efficiency. EVs will catch up.
Not really. They’re quite popular in Asian countries.
There’s a couple thousand in China for Nio, but they haven’t really taken off anywhere else.
By contrast there’s over 1.8 million public EV chargers in China alone.
Batteries are heavy, which makes them hard to move and requires secure attachment to the vehicle. EV chargers have no moving parts and require much less maintenance.
The thing is you don’t need heavy batteries if you can swap them every 100-150km or so.
150km of range usually requires about 200kg of lithium ion batteries. More for larger vehicles.
What’s wrong with charging? At 350KW you can get 150km of range in 5 minutes.
Not if your car is a small one ala Fiat 500E. And bigger cars should not exist.
The Fiat 500e’s battery weighs 295kg.
With a range of 320km. Cut it in half and it becomes very manageable. Partition it and you can replace it without heavy duty tools.