Modular Battery: How Nio Sells the Concept of Removable Batteries

The electric car manufacturer Nio launches a on-demand battery service in China, allowing for recharging or capacity swaps as needed.

Nio cars have a feature still unique on the market: their battery is removable. Instead of charging their electric vehicle for several tens of minutes, users go to stations where the battery is replaced in 3 minutes by a robot.

Just like Renault’s early Zoe, Nio also stands out by offering buyers the option to rent the battery. The advantage is to reduce the purchase price and spread payments. The manufacturer deducts 70,000 yuan (€9,743) for the 70 or 75 kWh battery or 128,000 yuan (€17,815) for the 100 kWh model.

This is known as Battery as a Service (BaaS), similar to Software as a Service (SaaS) for online subscription services, as opposed to software that you buy and install on a computer.

Purchase or rental, permanent or temporary

These two features now enable Nio to offer a modular battery service.

Firstly, owners of Nio vehicles renting a 70 or 75 kWh battery for 980 yuan per month (€136/month) can now also rent the new 100 kWh battery. They will pay 1480 yuan per month (€206/month) if they wish to own it outright. The price increases to 1860 yuan per month (€259/month) if they want the option to revert to the smaller battery, for example after a holiday.

Those who purchased a 70 or 75 kWh battery can choose either to upgrade to the 100 kWh battery for 58,000 yuan (€8,073), or switch to renting a 100 kWh battery for 880 yuan per month (€122/month), which is the difference between renting the 100 kWh and the 70/75 kWh batteries.

A few years ago, Tesla offered a demand-based battery, but as a software lock. After launching real Model S 60 kWh models, the manufacturer was actually selling 75 kWh batteries. These could be unlocked by paying €10,000, directly through the car’s screen or the mobile app.

The new Nio service is still only available in China. The manufacturer recently expanded into Europe, in Norway. It recently partnered with the “oil company” Shell to install battery swapping stations.