Chinese electric car maker NIO wants to secure a share of the growing European market for e-cars by setting up a network for leasing and swapping batteries. Battery swapping is said to be much faster at the swap stations than charging at a fast charger. NIO currently operates over 1,000 Power Swap Stations in China and only a few in Europe. In this Charge episode, we talk to Daniel Medawar, a representative of NIO, about how battery swapping works in the first place, whether the swapping options in China are only used for long-distance travel or even replace charging. It remains to be seen whether swap stations can prevail against an expanded fast-charging network in Germany, and whether drivers will actually want to rent their traction batteries. In the next episode, we put NIO's explanations into scientific perspective with Dr. Joachim Sann from the University of Giessen.
