Nio is a Chinese auto maker that offers an alternative to charging: just swapping out the whole battery whenever you need it. I borrowed one of their cars. ■...
      • silverbax@lemmy.worldEnglish
        0·
        7 months ago

        Speed, for one. 5 minutes vs 30 minutes to an hour to be fully charged. Makes a big difference for road trips where you need to recharge on the way.

        • IchNichtenLichten@lemmy.worldEnglish
          0·
          7 months ago

          I’m not sure I agree. Lots of EVs have a 250+ mile range. I’d need a 30 minute break after driving that kind of distance.

      • mesamune@lemmy.worldOP
        0·
        7 months ago

        Repairability. A battery should be able to be replaced.

        Having options is good for the consumer.

          • surewhynotlem@lemmy.world
            0·
            7 months ago

            You have that backwards. The vehicle is good for the life of the battery. We could design EV where the shell and motor last 30 years, and the battery just swaps out every decade or so.

            • IchNichtenLichten@lemmy.worldEnglish
              0·
              7 months ago

              You have that backwards.

              I don’t think so. Think of the engineering challenges. The battery would have to be a separate structure so more weight, less range/performance, more wear on tires and brakes, less rigidity unless you add even more weight, etc.

              Batteries can be replaced now. It’s just a time consuming job but one that might only need doing once.

      • dustyData@lemmy.worldEnglish
        0·
        7 months ago

        I find this kind of comments so stupid. The technology is well beyond proven. Logistics have had swappable batteries for over 15 years since the time of acid batteries. Nio is a rental company first and for them the model seems to be working. It’s compelling for road trips specially since most of the charging stations are broken most of the time and for extremely dense cities where people aren’t allowed to access power plugs at parking spaces. I mean, on the suburbanite hellscape, charging at home will always make more sense, but the US is not the entirety of the world. This things seem to be ripe for success in Asia and Europe.