French automotive giant Renault is considering introducing the capacity for battery-swapping into its electric cars, potentially making it the first major carmaker to embrace the technology.
Renault ZOE. Source: Renault Group
The Renault ZOE. Source: Renault Group
The company's CEO Luca de Meo told the FT's Future of the Car summit that he was looking at plans to adopt the tech, which would slash waiting times at recharging stations.
Battery-swapping enables drivers to replace empty batteries with recharged ones at special stations in a matter of minutes, bringing back an idea that was first brought up by the French automaker more than 10 years ago.
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"I’ve asked our engineers to find the solution to go back to the original idea that was pioneered by Renault around 2010/11 and maybe we’ll see the thing coming on some of the cars," de Meo told the FT summit.
"It’s not decided, but I see it as an interesting opportunity. We need to find a pragmatic solution, but from a business point of view, there’s a point separating the battery from the car."
Renault CEO, Luca de Meo. Source: SEAT Comm
Luca de Meo has been Renault CEO since July 2020 after spending five years as President of SEAT. Source: SEAT Comm / CC BY-SA 4.0
De Meo opened the FT's three-day virtual event which will also see JLR chief executive Thierry Bolloré and Stellantis boss Carlos Tavares speak on Wednesday.
The Renault chief also said that his company was on course to hit its 2022 cost-cutting targets later this year.
Battery-swapping also enables manufacturers to decouple the cost of battery technology from new electric cars and allays drivers' concerns about a battery depreciating in value or capacity.
While no major auto firm has adopted battery-swapping technology as of yet, many industry insiders believe the system could work.
Chinese electric vehicle maker Nio is currently the leading force in the industry, with over 1 million swaps under its belt since launching its service.
The company has plans to double its network in China to over 500 sites this year and is looking at opening a swapping station in Norway sometime later this year as its entry point into the European market.
Renault was one of the first major brands to launch an electric car with Zoe in 2012. The company is currently on a push to increase sales of EVs and strengthen the business by cutting factory floor space and giving the brands in its stable an overhaul.
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De Meo told the summit that Renault's Alpine brand was to become a fully electric marque which he described as "a mix between a mini-Ferrari and a mini-Tesla," though added there were no plans to widen it to become a premium brand with a full suite of vehicle types.
"I know how difficult it is to create from scratch a premium brand because it’s not only about doing good cars, it’s about everything: technology, distribution, our reputation and the different segments," he said in his speech at the virtual summit.
He added that Renault was to focus its first EV production efforts in its native France, while hybrids would be assembled elsewhere.
De Meo predicted that his company's homeland was to become "an ecosystem that is more centres on electric vehicles."
"France is a particularly attractive place especially to produce electric vehicles because we have competence, so I don’t have to reproduce stuff to produce an electric engine," he added.
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