Is battery-swapping the answer to affordable EVs?

The battery is the most expensive part of an electric vehicle (EV), and so it makes sense for the industry to explore ways of reducing that cost or at least changing how that bill is covered. Efforts around battery-swapping continue, and subscription models are even entering the fray.

Given the industry’s nascent stage, there are only a handful of notable efforts to amortise the battery so far. Renault has explored the battery leasing model, where drivers owned the vehicle but rented the battery from the automaker. In theory, this approach makes the car less expensive, but it is not a miracle scenario where the cost of the battery is forgotten about. It is simply paid for in a different way.

The programme was