Does draft battery-swapping policy address all concerns of the industry?

Just as public trust in electric vehicles was taking a hit amid a spate of fire incidents involving e-scooters, government think-tank NITI Aayog came out with the much-awaited draft policy on battery swapping last week.

Targeted at electric two and three-wheelers, the policy aims to drive large-scale adoption of EVs by promoting the use of the nascent but rapidly growing battery swapping technology and encouraging collaboration among the stakeholders.

Battery swapping falls under the broader umbrella of Battery-as-a-Service (BaaS) business model where users purchase an EV without the battery, which significantly lowers upfront costs. They pay a regular subscription fee to service providers for battery services throughout the vehicle’s lifetime.