China’s Battery Swapping Heavy-duty BEV Truck Sector

The electrification of heavy-duty trucks has not been advancing as fast as that of passenger vehicles in China. There are issues with the purchase price, charging time and charging network. Battery-swapping has been proposed as a solution since around 2020 to solve these problems. While only 35 units of battery-swapping heavy-duty trucks were sold in 2020, that figure rose to 3,228 units in 2021. Battery-charging heavy-duty trucks are 2-3 times more expensive than their conventional counterparts; however, battery-swapping heavy-duty trucks are significantly cheaper because the initial cost can be reduced by purchasing only the vehicle body without the battery. As for the battery, rather than purchasing it, renting offers a cheaper solution. In addition, battery swapping takes no more than five minutes which is a lot shorter than charging. Moreover, battery swapping stations utilize normal charging compared to quick charging stations, which require large energy output, so the effect on the power system is small.