Ford asks suppliers for ideas to cut EV costs in an all-win-or-lose push for profitability
Ford asks suppliers for ideas to cut EV costs in an all-win-or-lose push for profitability

Ford asks suppliers for ideas to cut EV costs in an all-win-or-lose push for profitability

I agree with every point you make other than the battery swap one. I really don't think there's a future in it. It's a cool feature but it just seems so overly complicated for basically only a very small convenience. A convenience that only exists if you're used to ICE cars. After a while people are not going to care because they will be so used to electric vehicles they'll just get used to charging them up every now and then whenever they stop anywhere, so it'll be a non-issue.
Battery swaps are only really useful if your battery is completely dead. Most people aren't going to completely drain the battery under normal operation. Your average commute is less than an 60 mile round trip, if you charge up every night you can essentially pretend you have an infinite battery.
People are going to look around and ask, why am I paying so much money to get a battery swap capable vehicle, when I only use the feature maybe once or twice a year on a road trip?
I feel like we've had this discussion elsewhere... :-) I apologize for the long reply, if so.
Here's why I think battery swap makes sense:
Here's why swapping makes sense: it removes all of the above.
Every issue becomes a non-issue if there were universal swap stations sprinkled around neighborhoods.
Like most things, there's a trade-off:
The first one is mitigated by the fact that the solution is to just swap again. Or even better, have a smart BMS that reports back to the swap station data on charge depletion. That way it knows to take the bad battery packs out of circulation or refurbish the cells. It can also setup economics where the older packs cost less to swap, for people willing to trade fuel cost for convenience.
The second is where I think the logic is inverted. The battery locked inside my car is degrading over time and is actually dragging down the resale value. Taking it out of the equation means the resale value is now based on other attributes: wear and tear on motors, telematics, and consumables (tires, brakes, etc) all of which will be cheaper to replace than the battery.
The third one is the most important. We're 10-15 years into the EV adoption cycle. It's not too late to plan ahead, if people actually demand it. NACS adoption announcements show us it's possible for carmakers to agree on a single standard.
Notice I haven't mentioned distance travel. That's because stopping for a long charge can be a positive experience for some people who could use the physical break, but a pain in the ass for those who need to get to their destination quickly. Depends on which camp you fall into.
The distribution of non-Tesla supercharger networks in the U.S. is so uneven people have to decide whether to take an EV or ICE, depending on how close their destination is to a major highway. Yes, we can build out thousands more stations, but that's not addressing the concern of those who just want to get from A to B and don't have hours to spare.
Outside the U.S. the situation is much better, which is why EV adoption is going more smoothly (helps having a better selection of models). Also, in many parts of the world, public transportation is actually viable, so NO CAR is an option. But the A to B time and resale value concerns stand for many people looking for their next car.
Back to EVs. Here in the U.S. if you drive on a busy holiday to a major metropolitan area, once you get there, you're risking spending a substantial part of that trip waiting and worrying. For a spot to open up, for how long to budget for charging, and how much to trust the app telling you there's an open spot.
Personal anecdote: Today, I wouldn't buy an EV in Southern California unless I could charge at home. Next time visiting, I'll rent an ICE. It's that bad.
When it comes to charging stations, I personally like talking to people and have had great conversations with some colorful characters while waiting, but that's also time I'm not spending on the purpose of the trip.
Again, battery swapping would solve all that.
The first time I saw it in action was 7-8 years ago in Taiwan with Gogoro scooters (https://www.gogoro.com/gogoro-network/). Saw someone ride up to a 7-11, pull out their battery, pop in a new one, and be gone in 60 seconds. I was sold.
Bottom line: the best user experience is not having to spend a minute thinking about charging. Ever.
[ Again, sorry for the long soliloquy. This is the sort of topic best hashed over a pint while someone points at how daft I'm being. ]