 "Battery swapping currently unviable: Electric two-wheeler executives")
Leading Indian electric two-wheeler (e2W) companies have said that “swapping” of batteries is currently unviable and will only increase the cost for a consumer to run the vehicle, making it an unattractive proposition. They were responding to a big push suggested by Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal in a meeting with auto companies in which he emphasised the need for battery swapping to coexist with charging infrastructure to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) in the country.
A top executive of an e2W maker said: “It’s simple, a battery-swapping provider, for instance, will have to keep more inventory of batteries than the number of customers who come for swapping.”
That apart, he said, it has to incur cost in setting of a swapping infrastructure with all safety nets, which is expensive. And there is a cost to running the show. “So, the cost of investing and keeping the additional batteries, apart from other costs, has to be eventually borne by the customers. As a result, our estimate is that the per-kilometre cost consumers will have to shell out (swappable battery) will be nearly double of what they pay for merely charging the vehicle. So, it’s unattractive,” he argued.
Two-wheeler players said that swapping might not make sense for 2Ws because the overall average mileage of usage per day of an e-scooter — at an industry average 28-30 km a day — is low. However, most e-scooters in the market have mileage that is at least a minimum range of the battery in one charge. And in case of e-motorcycles, the usage, according to the industry, would at best be an average double of that per day.
Industry experts pointed out that already over 80 per cent of the commuters charge their e-scooters at home. Currently, to support them, there are already over 4,500 fast chargers, which are already available across the country, powered by companies like Ather and Ola Electric. Other companies are also joining in the fast-charging space.
There are other issues too. For instance, swapping would require standardisation of the battery, which many players say is not acceptable as it could be the key technological competitive differentiator against their rivals. Battery accounts for 40 per cent of the cost of an e2W.
However, battery swapping could be viable for fleet owners, who have large volumes and can match utilisation of inventory with usage.
Of course, there has been a big push in building the charging infrastructure. According to S&P Global Mobility, there are already 25,202 electric charging stations across the country, nearly double of what it was at the end of 2023. And, states are also pushing the pedal. Karnataka, for instance, has 5,765 charging stations of which Bengaluru Urban district has over 4,462, representing 85 per cent of the total charging infrastructure in the state. This is followed by Maharashtra (3,728), Uttar Pradesh (1,989), and Delhi (1,941), according to S&P Global Mobility data.