Photo: Sina Finance via Weibo | Edited
Although swappable batteries have been promoted as a cheap and convenient way to extend an EV's range, they have drawbacks. A recent video from China shows a Geely Cao Cao 60 SUV that lost its battery pack while driving, a serious situation caused by its swappable battery pack.
During the infancy years of electric vehicles, swappable batteries were seen as a quick fix for the long charging time problem. Even Tesla contemplated a swappable battery for the Model S. Thankfully, it decided against it and built its Supercharger network instead. Even though Western companies have tried and failed to turn swappable batteries into a convenient solution, Chinese companies are still convinced that swapping is better than charging.
With a swappable battery, you only pay for the rest of the car and rent the battery according to your usage. It's also more convenient to have a fresh battery in less than five minutes instead of waiting half an hour to charge. Swappable batteries also have their drawbacks. For once, the latching system needs to be simple and sturdy to withstand hundreds of battery swaps throughout the lifetime of an electric vehicle. Also, storing dozens of battery packs at each swapping station can be a logistical nightmare.
There are other problems, of course, and a video coming from China shows that swappable batteries might not be the best solution after all. In the video, an electric vehicle is stopped while its battery pack lies in the middle of the road behind it. We don't know how this happened, but we can imagine that the last battery swap did not go exactly as planned. Based on the rear design of the SUV in the video, Chinese media says it's a Cao Cao 60, an electric SUV developed by Geely specifically for its ride-hailing service, Cao Cao Mobility.
The incident happened in Chengdu on the Second Ring Road. Without the battery pack, the EV remained immobilized in the middle of the road, waiting for help. People suspect that the fasteners weren't adequately tightened during the battery swap and later fell off because of vibrations. Luckily, no one was hurt during this incident, and the battery pack did not ignite. Still, had the car been driven faster on a highway, it could've been a different situation, especially if the battery pack had been hit by a vehicle driving behind.
Although Nio is the EV startup best known for promoting swappable batteries, it is not alone, with Geely as the heavyweight behind this trend. A swappable battery is perfect for ride-hailing services, as the cars can operate indefinitely without more downtime than needed for a battery replacement. That's why the Cao Cao 60 uses a swappable battery, which in this case separated from the car at the worst possible moment. The Cao Cao brand was launched only three months ago in China, with the Cao Cao 60 SUV being its first model.
With a swappable battery, you only pay for the rest of the car and rent the battery according to your usage. It's also more convenient to have a fresh battery in less than five minutes instead of waiting half an hour to charge. Swappable batteries also have their drawbacks. For once, the latching system needs to be simple and sturdy to withstand hundreds of battery swaps throughout the lifetime of an electric vehicle. Also, storing dozens of battery packs at each swapping station can be a logistical nightmare.
There are other problems, of course, and a video coming from China shows that swappable batteries might not be the best solution after all. In the video, an electric vehicle is stopped while its battery pack lies in the middle of the road behind it. We don't know how this happened, but we can imagine that the last battery swap did not go exactly as planned. Based on the rear design of the SUV in the video, Chinese media says it's a Cao Cao 60, an electric SUV developed by Geely specifically for its ride-hailing service, Cao Cao Mobility.
The incident happened in Chengdu on the Second Ring Road. Without the battery pack, the EV remained immobilized in the middle of the road, waiting for help. People suspect that the fasteners weren't adequately tightened during the battery swap and later fell off because of vibrations. Luckily, no one was hurt during this incident, and the battery pack did not ignite. Still, had the car been driven faster on a highway, it could've been a different situation, especially if the battery pack had been hit by a vehicle driving behind.
Although Nio is the EV startup best known for promoting swappable batteries, it is not alone, with Geely as the heavyweight behind this trend. A swappable battery is perfect for ride-hailing services, as the cars can operate indefinitely without more downtime than needed for a battery replacement. That's why the Cao Cao 60 uses a swappable battery, which in this case separated from the car at the worst possible moment. The Cao Cao brand was launched only three months ago in China, with the Cao Cao 60 SUV being its first model.
How do you feel when the whole battery pack falls off your EV during driving? pic.twitter.com/g3KBu0blPQ
— Ray (@ray4tesla) June 30, 2023
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