Latest news with #EV
Motor Trend
3 hours ago
- Automotive
- Motor Trend
Is It Time for EV Charging Stations to Simply Offer Quick-Time Battery Swaps?
John and Jane Public aren't warming to electric cars at the rate many in the automotive industry thought they would, and that's mostly because EVs still can't match the cost and convenience of gasoline-powered alternatives. The steady march of progress is chipping away at EVs' cost, boosting the distance they can drive on a single charge, and hastening their charging speeds (1-megawatt or better is almost here). But maybe there's a holistically better idea. The article advocates for battery swapping in EVs, citing Chinese company Nio's success with its extensive swap stations. Benefits include quick swaps, cost savings, and greener energy use. The author suggests adopting this system in the West to boost EV adoption and to be able to compete globally. This summary was generated by AI using content from this MotorTrend article Read Next Perhaps it's time we dust off General Electric's plan from 1910, when it equipped its GeVeCo electric trucks with separately leased Hartford Electric batteries designed specially to be swapped quickly when depleted. Together, these electric trucks covered 6 million miles between 1910 and 1924. Electric forklifts have used battery swapping since the mid 1940s, and Israeli startup Project Better Place (later just 'Better Place') endeavored to revive that idea for electric cars beginning in 2007. Better Place was neither a battery company nor a car company, and the challenges of engaging those stakeholders, combined with an immature electric-car market, ultimately doomed the enterprise. And while Israel and Denmark might have been reasonable launch markets, our nation's size seemed logistically daunting, even if enough car companies could come to agree on a battery size, shape, or performance envelope to achieve critical mass. But experiencing Nio's Power Swap experience in Shanghai felt like gazing into a brighter EV future. CATL Goes All In Chinese automaker Nio (founded in November 2014) made battery swapping its unique selling proposition, building a network of more than 3,200 swapping stations in much the same way Tesla built its own Supercharger networks. In the seven years Nio has sold cars, it's revised the battery and station designs a few times. Its newest model, the Firefly EV, uses yet another new swappable battery, designed in conjunction with battery giant CATL and a consortium of companies. One of these, Changan, just delivered 1,000 Oshan 520 taxis in Chongqing, using similar batteries that can be swapped at any of 50 CATL swapping stations promised by the end of 2025. (Swapping is particularly valuable for taxis, ride-share services, delivery and similar commercial vehicles.) Chocolate-Bar Batteries CATL got into the battery swapping concept a while back with small 25-kWh packs that resembled two blocks of baking chocolate that could be used individually or ganged two or three to a vehicle, heightening the baking chocolate allusion. CATL's QIJI swap solution for trucks still follows this model, and the name Choco-Swap, or Choco-SEB (Swapping Electric Block) has stuck. CATL's light-vehicle strategy, however, has morphed to now covering the breadth of vehicle sizes and range needs with two battery form factors, each offering a choice of LFP or NMC chemistry. Swap Station Design Both Nio and CATL swapping stations require approximately the footprint size of three normal parking spaces, with the car driving up a ramp high enough for battery packs to shuttle underneath to begin the process. The two adjacent parking spaces typically house 24–30 batteries that remain bi-directionally connected, charging at moderate rates (up to 100 kW) to a level just past 90 percent. Nio's stations assemble like Legos, allowing a new station to be set up and operational in 4–5 hours overnight. Nio owns and operates most of its stations but is now allowing investment groups or provinces to buy, operate, and share revenues generated as power companies pay to tap this stored energy. Having sold 700,000-plus cars, 80 percent of which are still in service, Nio claims its inventory of swap-available batteries amounts to 6 or 7 percent of the on-road fleet. And to prep for big-travel weekends like Chinese New Year, heavy incentives go out to entice large-capacity battery owner/lessees who don't plan to leave town to swap down, making bigger batteries available for travelers. Anatomy of a Swap Using your car's native navigation system, a trip is plotted including convenient swap stations. As you approach one, a specific time slot is allotted, and a particular battery gets assigned to your car. Your car's battery temperature is shared, and the station adjusts the coolant in the replacement battery to match, thereby preventing expansion or thermal shock. When it's your turn, the station talks you through the process (explaining what the automatic system is doing). You sense the station lift the car slightly, you hear 10 bolts simultaneously undoing, the swap occurs, the bolts tighten, you drop back down and you're on your way. (Note: CATL says Choco-Swap batteries are air cooled, sidestepping the temperature-alignment issue.) What are the advantages? Quicker My Nio Power Swap experience replaced a depleted battery with one charged to 91 percent in less than three minutes, which included the time needed to maneuver into and out of the station. CATL's Choco-Swap requires the driver to pull in, as when entering a car wash. It then swaps packs in 100 seconds (presumably more if adding extra batteries). My ET9 showed 352 miles of range following the swap. Even 1-megawatt charging can't add that many miles that quickly—especially when multiple charging-station users lower the peak rate. Cheaper Drivers can buy most Nio cars with or without batteries included. Opting for the battery-lease deal knocks $17,900 off the luxury ET9's $110,320 price, adding a monthly battery lease of $179. Owned or leased batteries can be swapped, with drivers paying the net difference in energy at a price higher than home charging but lower than high-speed DC fast charging. Then there's the savings of leasing a small battery and simply upgrading and paying for a longer-range one only when traveling. Car companies could slash both time to market and program budgets by offloading or sharing the R&D, safety testing, warranty, and other liability costs that batteries entail. And these standard form-factor batteries can potentially be upgraded over time as new chemistries or solid-state cells become available. Infrastructure pricewise, a battery swapping station is also way cheaper to install than a bank of 1MW chargers able to serve the same number of customers. Power companies faced with adding grid capacity, sub-stations, and transmission lines to support multimegawatt charging banks could save a lot by investing in swapping stations, each of which draws way less power, can absorb excess solar or wind energy, and will help even out loads during periods of peak usage. Greener Batteries that are regularly charged at level-2 rates to 90ish percent should last longer than those that are frequently fast-charged. Each battery has a digital twin in the cloud, and when monitoring detects bad cells or modules, they can be replaced while out of the car, extending the pack's useful life. When usable capacity drops below 80 percent of new, a pack can be reassigned to non-EV use. When drivers use a lighter commuting-sized battery most of the time, they use less energy to operate and generate less wear on the tires and brakes. What exactly changed my mind on swapping? My Shanghai adventure proved China's auto industry is miles ahead of ours. It seems to me that to be at all competitive in the global market, we need to quickly overcome buyers' reluctance to electrify and up our collective EV game. It also seems like high time 'the west' teams up to fight off this Chinese threat, and an automaker/energy-industry collaboration on a battery-swapping ecosystem that ends buyers' battery-life worries while delivering gas-station refueling convenience—all at gas-vehicle operating cost parity—looks like the quickest way to get there.
Car and Driver
3 hours ago
- Automotive
- Car and Driver
Audi Isn't Abandoning Gas Engines for EVs by 2033 Like It Planned
Audi is removing its planned 2033 all-EV deadline, according to a report by Autocar. Last year, the company decided to put more funding into developing hybrid technology. Sure to please Audi performance fans, there's the potential for future gas-powered RS models. Last year, Audi softened its plans to wind down a transition to an entirely electrified lineup, suggesting that plug-in hybrid technology was worth developing as a bridge to EVs. Still, the company's official stated plan was a full EV range by 2033, so no more internal-combustion-powered Audis. Now, as reported by Autocar, that deadline is off the table. The EV Deadline Is Dead Citing an interview with Audi CEO Gernot Döllner, Autocar notes that the decision to continue developing combustion engines is part of keeping the company's lineup "flexible." The new short-term plans include a new lineup of gas-powered vehicles, hybridized or not, to be rolled out by next year. There's no new deadline for full electrification, but Döllner said he expects Audi to still be producing gas-powered cars past 2033. View Photos Michael Simari | Car and Driver These plans are likely dependent on the market, as EU laws have a set target date of full electrification by 2035. On this side of the Atlantic, about 12 percent of Audis sold in the United States were EVs. Globally, that percentage rises to 30 percent, with total figures slightly ahead of Mercedes but lagging BMW. Audi will still be putting R&D money towards its all-electric vehicles and no doubt benefiting from the Volkswagen Group's broader strategy. However, there's perhaps a little hope here for those who weren't quite ready to throw in the towel on gas-powered performance Audis. View Photos audi New Gas-Fed RS Models? Indications are that RS versions of gas-powered Audis will still be on the table. Audi's performance division has delivered some hugely characterful motors over the years, from the RS6's twin-turbo V-10 to the TT RS's snorty turbocharged inline-five. Speaking of the Audi TT, Döllner didn't entirely close the door on speculation that it might return, perhaps accompanied by its big brother, the R8. He said it was too early to talk about such things, but that there might be a chance to be surprised in the future. Don't hold your breath, but the gas-powered four-ring circus hasn't left town yet. Brendan McAleer Contributing Editor Brendan McAleer is a freelance writer and photographer based in North Vancouver, B.C., Canada. He grew up splitting his knuckles on British automobiles, came of age in the golden era of Japanese sport-compact performance, and began writing about cars and people in 2008. His particular interest is the intersection between humanity and machinery, whether it is the racing career of Walter Cronkite or Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki's half-century obsession with the Citroën 2CV. He has taught both of his young daughters how to shift a manual transmission and is grateful for the excuse they provide to be perpetually buying Hot Wheels. Read full bio
Business Recorder
4 hours ago
- Automotive
- Business Recorder
Pakistan launches National Electric Vehicle Policy 2025-30
Pakistan government on Thursday officially launched the National Electric Vehicle (NEV) Policy 2025-30. Speaking at the launch, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Industries and Production Haroon Akhtar Khan called the policy a 'historic and transformative step' in Pakistan's journey towards industrial, environmental, and energy reforms, according to a statement from the Ministry of Industries and Production. Haroon Akhtar Khan stated that the new EV policy was aligned with the prime minister's vision of promoting clean, sustainable, and affordable transportation while encouraging local industry and protecting the environment. He emphasised that the transport sector was a major contributor to carbon emissions in Pakistan, and reforms in that area were imperative. National Electric Vehicle policy expected in one month Akhtar said one of the major targets under the policy was to ensure that 30% of all new vehicles sold in Pakistan by 2030 would be electric. The transition is projected to save 2.07 billion litres of fuel annually, amounting to nearly $1 billion in foreign exchange savings. Additionally, the policy is expected to reduce carbon emissions by 4.5 million tons and cut healthcare-related costs by $405 million per year. Akhtar announced that an initial subsidy of Rs9 billion was allocated for the fiscal year 2025-26, under which 116,053 electric bikes and 3,171 electric rickshaws would be facilitated. 'Importantly, 25% of the subsidy is reserved for women to provide them with safe, affordable, and eco-friendly mobility.' He said a fully digital platform was introduced to ensure transparent online application, verification, and disbursement of subsidies. Furthermore, the policy outlines the installation of 40 new EV charging stations on motorways, with an average distance of 105 kilometres between them. Electric Vehicle policy to be announced by end of November: Tanveer The policy also includes the introduction of battery swapping systems, vehicle-to-grid (V2G) schemes, and mandatory integration of EV charging points in new building codes to facilitate wider adoption in urban areas. To encourage local manufacturing, incentives are being provided to domestic producers. Currently, over 90% of parts for two- and three-wheelers are already manufactured locally, according to the ministry. As per the details, the government will also introduce special support packages for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to further boost localisation. The Automotive Industry Development and Export Plan (AIDEP) tariff facility would continue until 2026 and be phased out gradually by 2030, the official announced. The Special Assistant noted that the NEV policy was developed through consultations with over 60 experts, institutions, and industry stakeholders, guided by a steering committee under the Ministry of Industries and Production since September 2024. The steering committee would hold monthly and quarterly review meetings, while the Auditor General of Pakistan would conduct a performance audit every six months, Akhtar said. He stressed that the NEV policy was not only an environmental revolution but also a foundation for industrial growth, local employment, energy efficiency, and technological self-reliance in Pakistan. He expressed hope that federal and provincial governments, the private sector, and citizens would work together to realise 'this vision of a clean, modern, and sustainable transport system'. Akhtar stated that the policy was a decisive move toward clean energy, sustainable transportation, and industrial development. ' 'It presents a comprehensive and results-driven strategy that aims to lead Pakistan toward a cleaner and more resilient future.' He also highlighted that locally produced goods were 30-40% cheaper than imported alternatives. In the two-wheeler segment alone, more than 90% of parts are now produced locally, according to Akhtar. 'Given Pakistan's vulnerability to climate change, the EV policy will significantly contribute to achieving global carbon reduction targets.' The policy is expected to yield savings of approximately Rs800 billion over the next 24-25 years through reduced fuel imports, the use of cheap electricity, and revenue from carbon credits. 'Charging vehicles with electricity will also reduce capacity payments from Rs174 billion to Rs105 billion, and carbon credits could generate around Rs15 billion in revenue.' The country's total energy demand for EVs over the next five years is projected at 126 terawatt-hours, which could be met using the existing surplus in the national grid, he said. An electric rickshaw or bike user is expected to recover their initial investment within 1 year and 10 months due to the low cost of charging compared to petrol. For instance, if the additional cost of an electric bike is Rs150,000, 'this can be recouped within less than two years through fuel savings'. Akhtar concluded by saying that the government had also provided exemptions on customs duties and sales tax on EV parts to support the local industry. 'This policy should be embraced wholeheartedly by Pakistan, as it is a game-changer for our economy, environment, and industrial landscape.'
Economic Times
6 hours ago
- Automotive
- Economic Times
Multibagger or IBC - Part 11: This auto ancillary helps make EV rides smoother, and also has a slice of the Vande Bharat pie
Whether it is an internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle or an EV, the component this company makes is what is called technology agnostic. That is, it is used in both. While that is correct on the face of it, there is a marked difference in the same component when used in an ICE vehicle and when it is used in an EV. Why? Well, because EVs are fundamentally heavier than their ICE counterparts. The reason: Batteries. A lithium-ion battery pack in FONT SIZE SAVE PRINT COMMENT
Mint
8 hours ago
- Automotive
- Mint
EV vs Petrol: Electric vehicles prove cheaper to run in India, says CEEW study
As India's vehicle population is set to more than double by 2050, a new study by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) has highlighted a significant shift in cost competitiveness between electric and petrol vehicles. The research shows that electric vehicles (EVs), particularly in the two- and three-wheeler categories, now offer a markedly lower total cost of ownership (TCO) compared to their petrol counterparts, a trend that could redefine the future of personal and commercial mobility in the country. According to the CEEW, electric two-wheelers are already the most economical option on Indian roads, costing just ₹ 1.48 per kilometre to operate, compared to ₹ 2.46 for petrol-powered versions. The advantage is even starker in the three-wheeler segment, where EVs cost ₹ 1.28/km versus ₹ 3.21/km for petrol-driven models. Commercial taxis, where operating costs heavily influence purchasing decisions, also stand to benefit significantly from the EV transition. 'Electric two- and three-wheelers are not just greener, but cheaper to run than petrol models. These segments are ripe for rapid electrification,' said Hemant Mallya, Fellow at CEEW. 'Cost advantages, especially in daily-use scenarios, will likely drive adoption faster in states that offer supportive policies.' The report attributes the shift in TCO dynamics to a combination of declining battery costs, supportive state-level incentives, and improved charging infrastructure. However, the cost competitiveness for private electric cars remains mixed across regions. Variations in state subsidies, electricity tariffs, and initial vehicle prices continue to affect affordability, the study notes. Despite the strong performance of EVs in the lighter vehicle categories, the report finds that electrification in heavier commercial vehicles, such as trucks and buses, lags behind. In 2024, electric medium and heavy goods vehicles remain costlier than those running on diesel, CNG, or LNG. With LNG expected to remain the cheapest fuel option for heavy transport until at least 2040, the study stresses the need for targeted research, infrastructure investments, and cost-reduction strategies to enable a transition in this segment. Without significant progress in electrification and green fuel adoption, diesel is projected to remain dominant in India's road transport sector until the late 2040s. Under a business-as-usual scenario, diesel demand would peak only by 2047, while petrol demand could peak earlier around 2032. Dr Himani Jain, Senior Programme Lead at CEEW, emphasised the broader implications: 'India's transport sector is at the crossroads of an energy, emissions, and urban planning challenge. Rising ownership and usage patterns will only increase congestion and environmental impact if we don't act now. We must prioritise clean, efficient, and cost-effective transport systems.' To manage the evolving cost landscape, the study recommends enhancing access to EV financing, particularly through public banks and non-banking financial companies (NBFCs). Innovative battery rental or EMI-based models could make upfront costs more manageable. In parallel, better data on vehicle ownership at the district level—especially via the VAHAN portal—will help target incentives and infrastructure planning more effectively. As India steers towards a low-carbon future, aligning fuel economics with sustainability goals will be key. The CEEW's Transportation Fuel Forecasting Model (TFFM), which enables granular projections of vehicle stock and energy demand at the district level, is expected to be a critical tool for policymakers, automakers, and energy providers alike.
