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Little BAIC Group EV startup Arcfox has gone an interesting route. Naturally, when we think of EV battery swapping, we typically think of NIO, which has far and away been the battery swapping leader in the industry. However, the world’s biggest battery producer, CATL, has also gotten into the battery swapping game relatively recently. That’s who Arcfox has partnered with to incorporate battery swapping into a coming model.
The Arcfox Beta T1 is a small, entry-level EV, but it will including battery swapping. It was one of the models revealed in the huge swarm of new EV filings released by China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) last week.
One of the biggest benefits of a car coming with a battery swapping option is the full, long-term cost of a battery is not put on the buyer by default from day one. Instead, the upfront capital cost of the car is on the buyer, but then the battery is just rented/leased for as many years as the person has the car. As a small, entry-level model, that will surely help it compete.
