Chinese electric vehicle (EV)-maker Nio has launched a battery-leasing service that will allow consumers to buy an EV without owning the battery pack, one of the most expensive EV components, thereby lowering the starting price of its cars. The service, dubbed as “battery as a service”, entails drivers paying a monthly rental fee for using the batteries.
- Nio's "Battery as a service", or BaaS, is based on its innovative battery-swapping technologies and its current national network of Power Swap stations and services.
- Nio has already obtained more than 1,200 patents related to battery swapping and completed more than 800,000 swaps for users. The company currently operates 143 battery-swapping stations around China and has also announced plans to build 300 new stations next year.
- BaaS provides a systematic solution to the long-existing challenges for EV adoption i.e. higher initial price of the vehicle, battery degradation, battery upgradability and lower resale value.
- Expect to see Nio volumes and EV share to grow rapidly in China over the months ahead.