The EV Battery Swapping Movement Is Gaining Momentum
Last Updated on: 3rd July 2025, 11:53 am
The idea of EV battery swapping came and went here in the US, after a short-lived trial by Tesla fizzled out during the Obama administration. The rest of the world is another story. Swapping is beginning to catch on in several key markets, and the industry has expanded to cover every class of EV from scooters on up to heavy duty trucks.
EV Battery Swapping, From Two Wheels To Four
Scooters and other lightweight two-wheelers have been the first to embrace battery swapping in volume, and it’s practically a no-brainer. For lighter vehicles the battery packs are small enough to be swapped out manually within a minute or two, skipping right over the wait times for charging. The small size of the battery also enables swapping stations to set up shop in tight urban locations. Automated swapping options are available in the two-wheeled space, too.
The four-wheeled market is more complicated. It necessarily requires automation, more space, and a larger capital outlay. Initial attempts — like Tesla’s — failed to catch hold in the early 2000s (another example of flameout is the US swapping startup Better Place).
So much for the bad news. The leading Chinese automaker Nio is among those to crack the swapping code. Part of the company’s marketing plan is a battery subscription service, which relieves EV owners from the up-front cost of buying their own battery along with the car.
Swapping firms also have the opportunity to earn additional revenue by deploying their stations as nimble energy storage facilities. They can recharge spent batteries at a leisurely pace during low-demand periods to help ease periodic strains on the grid, and they can potentially deliver kilowatts back to the grid as needed.
Advantages For Fleet EVs
The swapping market for private-use EVs may or may not be limited to particular regions, but that remains to be seen. Gig workers and other drivers who use their own vehicles commercially comprise a more receptive market, depending on their needs. Swapping stations clearly fulfill the need for speed, and they also make EV ownership more accessible to the many drivers who don’t have the opportunity to charge up at home.
The swapping station model also ensures that each battery is assessed and recharged for optimal use, reducing the risk of a mishap while in service.
Somewhat miraculously, the US firm Ample is one of the startups to survive the earlier challenges of the EV battery swapping field. Part of the strategy involved laying low in stealth mode for seven years leading up to 2021 (see our Ample swapping archive here).
Ample’s stated mission is to meet, if not beat, EV fast-charging on speed with a fully automated swap of five minutes or less. The firm has been very busy over the past several years leading up to last December, when it announced a strategic partnership with Mitsubishi, which had already engaged with Bosch and the Chinese swapping firm BPSE to carry the torch for battery swapping. Last year Ample trialed its swapping station in Kyoto, in collaboration with Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation along with the Japanese firm ENEOS Holdings.
The Japanese connection expanded earlier this year, when Ample announced that it has been selected for a new EV battery swapping initiative in Tokyo involving multiples of its transportable, modular, space-saving stations, aimed at providing busy urban commercial EV drivers with a quick switch.
“Nowhere is this more critical than in Tokyo, a city that moves millions of people and goods daily through its dense network of delivery vans, light-duty trucks, and taxis. For electrification to work at scale, energy solutions must be fast, reliable, and space-efficient,” Ample emphasized in a press statement.
EV Battery Swapping, Both Ways
Another example of interest is the Chinese startup U Power. The company crossed the CleanTechnica radar last year when it introduced a modular battery that enables its robotic “UOTTA” swapping system to service both two-wheelers and four-wheelers, potentially enabling it to challenge NIO for market share.
The company has leveled up its strategy since then. On July 2, U Power announced a Memorandum of Understanding with the leading Chinese firm Beijing Foton. Beijing Foton is the export branch of Foton Motor, which comes under the umbrella of Beijing Automotive Group. “In 2024, FOTON exported a total of 153,000 new energy vehicles, maintaining its leading position in China’s commercial vehicle exports for the 14th consecutive year,” Beijing Foton said of itself, in a press statement issued by U Power earlier this year.
“As part of Beijing Automotive Group, Foton Motors focuses on the research and development, production, sales and service of commercial vehicles, and has a comprehensive product portfolio including heavy trucks, medium trucks, light trucks, buses, pickup trucks and new energy vehicles,” Foton Motors elaborates, taking note of its R&D investments in EV batteries among other elements of vehicle electrification.
Trucks, Buses, & Microgrids Take Center Stage In EV Battery Swapping Plan
As implied by Foton, U Power intends to extend its modular battery system all the way up the truck ladder. Big vehicles with bigger battery packs complement U Power’s focus on providing microgrid services through its swapping stations. The company describes itself as “a provider of comprehensive electric vehicle (“EV”) battery-swapping solutions with a vision of becoming a smart energy grid solutions provider.”
As called for by the MOU, the two firms will focus their EV battery swapping plan on South America and Southeast Asia, including Hong Kong and Macau. U Power will provide technical support for swapping compatibility with Beijing Foton vehicles and provide swapping station services, with an emphasis on connecting EVs to its “battery-bank ecosystem.”
“Through investments in next-generation technologies, U Power’s vision is to become a comprehensive solutions provider for smart energy grids,” U Power emphasizes.
“Expanding on its UOTTA technology platform, the Company is investing in building intelligent ecosystems that integrate resilient AI driven solutions able to transform electric vehicles (EVs) into dynamic energy assets,” they add for good measure.
Yes, Battery Swapping For Large Trucks Is A Thing
While battery swapping for large trucks and buses may seem too cumbersome and costly to achieve mass deployment, the advantages of speed, grid services, and battery health multiply with the size of the battery pack.
That has caught the attention of heavier-duty electrification stakeholders including the mining giant Rio Tinto, which is trialing a robotic swapping station at a site in Mongolia.
Another truck battery stakeholder to watch is Australia’s Janus Electric. The company has also introduced solar-enabled swapping stations and diesel-to-electric conversions into the swapping field.
Photo (cropped): The global EV battery swapping station industry is branching out in all directions, with the Chinese firm U Power among those focusing on microgrid services as well as charging services (courtesy of U Power).
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