DETROIT/BEIJING ¨C A year ago Tesla dismissed the alternative path of electric car battery swapping as ¡°riddled with problems and not suitable for widescale use.¡± It seems Beijing disagrees.
In fact, China is pushing hard for swappable batteries for electric vehicles (EVs) as a supplement to regular vehicle charging, with the government throwing its weight behind several companies advancing the technology.
Four companies ¡ª automakers Nio and Geely, battery-swap developer Aulton and state-owned oil producer Sinopec ¡ª say they plan to establish a total of 24,000 swap stations across the country by 2025, up from about 1,400 today.
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