- The battery swap business model is in line with China's carbon peak and carbon neutral strategies, and can solve EV charging difficulties, said GAC's chairman.
- He called for solutions to the issues of high construction costs, lagging layout, and lack of uniform battery standards for battery swap facilities.
Feng Xingya, chairman and general manager of Chinese auto giant GAC Group, called for greater policy support for the battery swap business model as one of his proposals for the upcoming two sessions in China.
China's annual sessions of its top legislative and political advisory bodies, known as the two sessions, will start tomorrow.
The battery swap business model is in line with China's carbon peak and carbon neutral strategies, and can also effectively address the difficulty of charging electric vehicles (EVs), Feng said, according to an article published today by GAC.
He called on Chinese authorities to increase policy support for the battery swap business model to address the high construction costs, lagging layout, and lack of uniform battery standards for battery swap facilities.
Feng's other recommendations include easing restrictions on the return to China of defective parts from Chinese automakers overseas, increasing the integration of electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) with EV technologies, and promoting the development of a humanoid robotics industry.
GAC is one of the earliest players in the battery swap space in China, announcing in November 2021 that it would offer battery swap-enabled versions of its entire model lineup based on the new GEP 3.0 platform.
In April 2022, its EV unit GAC Aion built its first battery swap station.
On July 3, 2023, GAC Aion's sub-brand Hyper -- now known as Hyptec -- launched its first model, the Hyper GT, with a battery swap-enabled variant.
Hyper constructed several battery swap stations in 2023, but then significantly slowed down its bet on the area.
On May 8, 2024, GAC signed a strategic partnership agreement with Nio (NYSE: NIO) on charging and battery swap, becoming the sixth member to join the latter's battery swap alliance.
Nio and GAC would work together to establish a unified battery standard and co-develop battery swap-enabled passenger cars and battery swap stations compatible with models from both brands, according to a statement at the time.
There have been no new developments regarding the collaboration so far though.
Last December 12, Nio founder, chairman, and CEO William Li said at a media event that the cycle time to build a new battery swap-enabled model is about 18 months.
By 2027 and 2028, there would be more new models built using Nio's battery swap technology, Li said at the time.
Related posts on CnEVPost
