Does anyone know why battery swapping has not been the standard from the start? It would have simplified so many things. Not to mention completely sidestepping the EV viability roadblock of long charging times.
this post was submitted on 04 Aug 2025
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Most early EVs were built on top of existing ICE platforms so it wasn't an easy way to add removable batteries.
Tesla did a demonstration in 2013, but it didn't go far: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tesla_battery_station
Back then, using the Supercharger network was free for Model S users, whereas they wanted to charge money for each battery swap. Not surprisingly, they said there was no demand for swapping and canned the whole thing.
The CATL swap model makes the most sense, however, so you don't have to swap the whole battery, but can do a quick swap of each segment. Also, that it's not limited to a single manufacturer (like Nio) which will likely expand the reach and let the cost of swap stations be spread across different vendors.
Lack of standardisation seems to be a problem. I wish the industry voluntarily agreed on a standard — like they did for USB. I don't get why tech keeps repeating the same mistakes over and over again.
It's not a mistake; it's a feature.
Tech only standardized when the EU made them or when it was so overwhelmingly necessary. Different plugs, non-replaceable batteries, and various other consumer-unfriendly features are mostly there so it's hard to switch to a different manufacturer.
With vehicles, the battery is most of the cost of the vehicle. If they allow battery swaps, then people can make their cars last longer, and make their used models more valuable (which is still kinda good for the manufacturer, because they'll be paying for battery swaps).
There are also arguments that the battery can be a structural component and therefore basically impossible to swap in and out easily. I don't know how much cost savings this brings, but Tesla thought it was worth it for their 3/Y platform.
Takes up a ton of space
Batteries are heavy
Fully charged batteries can be dangerous