Battery Swap: India Said to Be Close to Finalising Incentives Under New Scheme

India’s new service will allow EV drivers to replace depleted battery blocks for freshly charged ones at swap stations.

By Reuters | Updated: 3 February 2022 18:26 IST

Battery Swap: India Said to Be Close to Finalising Incentives Under New Scheme

Globally, battery swapping has been slow to gain traction especially among carmakers

Highlights

India said it will introduce a new policy to promote swapping
A battery is also the most expensive part in an EV
Tesla years ago, tested the model and decided not to offer it

The Indian government is expected to finalise incentives under its new battery swap scheme for electric vehicles (EVs) within the next two months, an official told Reuters, amid a broader clean mobility push to meet its decarbonisation goals.

The policy will initially focus on battery swap services for electric scooters, motorcycles, and three-wheeled auto rickshaws, the official said, in a boost for sectors like last-mile delivery and ride-sharing.

India said on Tuesday it will introduce a new policy to promote swapping, a service that allows EV drivers to replace depleted battery blocks for freshly charged ones at swap stations. This is faster than charging the vehicle and reduces range anxiety for drivers.

Tesla Driver Complaints Over False Braking Being Reviewed by US Regulator

A battery is also the most expensive part in an EV and swapping allows companies to offer it as a service through lease or subscription models, bringing down the cost of owning and operating the vehicle, industry executives say.

The government is likely to offer EV owners an incentive of up to 20 percent of the total subscription or lease cost of the battery and this will be in addition to what they already get for buying clean vehicles, the person said.

In 2019, India set aside Rs. 10,000 crore to promote EVs by giving incentives directly to buyers, but only about 10 percent of this has been used. Incentives for battery swapping will likely be given from the same fund, the official said.

Self-Charging Hybrid Cars Outsell Diesel in Europe for First Time: ACEA

Globally, battery swapping has been slow to gain traction especially among carmakers.

Tesla, years ago, tested the model and decided not to offer it to customers but rival Nio offers swap services across China. Last month, Chinese battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology announced plans to launch swap stations.

In India, oil giant Reliance Industries has formed a joint venture with Britain's BP to offer battery swapping. Motorbike maker Hero MotoCorp and Taiwan's Gogoro have also partnered to set up swap stations, and the service is offered by start-up Sun Mobility as well.

Tesla, Cruise, Other Self-Driving Car Companies Zoom Ahead in US

The government will also define battery design and charging standards for companies that want to set up swap stations. This is to ensure the batteries can be used across EV models of different automakers, the official said.

"The idea is that if one company sets up a battery swap station, vehicles of another company should be able to use the same battery and service. Disruption will only come with scale," the person said.

© Thomson Reuters 2022

Ford to Make New Investment of Up to $20 Billion in EV Push: Report

Why is 5G taking so long? We discuss this on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.