Renault is reportedly contemplating the introduction of a battery-swapping feature in its electric cars, and would be the first major carmaker to adopt the technology.
At the Future of the Car Summit, Renault Chief Executive Luca de Meo spoke about the carmaker considering the value of battery-swapping for its electric cars in order to cut waiting times at charging points.
The battery-swapping technology allows drivers to replace used batteries with recharged ones within just a few minutes at charging stations.
However, this is not a new idea for Renault, who originally pioneered it a decade ago.
‘I have asked our engineers to find the solution to go back to the original idea that was pioneered by Renault around 2010 and 2011, and maybe we will see the thing coming on some of the cars,’ De Meo told the Financial Times.
‘It is not decided, but I see it as an interesting opportunity. We need to find a pragmatic solution, but from a business point of view, there is a point separating the battery from the car.’
Moreover, the battery-swapping technology allowed manufacturers to minimise the cost of batteries of new electric vehicles, in turn reassuring drivers on the issue of battery capacity depreciation.
Renault was one of the first carmakers to go electric, launching the Zoe model on roads in 2012. Adopting this battery swapping technology could deepen Renault’s presence in the electric car market in the face of the 2030 deadline for drivers to make the switch from petrol and diesel to electric.
