5 ms·

At the end of the day though, it seems like you would be paying for the depreciation on the battery (because it does depreciate, even if you don't own it) plus

At the end of the day though, it seems like you would be paying for the depreciation on the battery (because it does depreciate, even if you don't own it) plus the extra profit / overhead required for the "battery as a service" part of the equation. There of course could be economies of scale at work here, where the overall price could be similar/lower than owing and eventually replacing a battery, but it seems to me from my very basic understanding of economics that it would be on average more expensive over the long term.

rapsey 3y ago
You can swap the batteries at any time (at their stations) and it takes minutes. The depreciation is not a factor which is why it is an interesting model.
- ViewTrick1002 3y ago
  The depreciation is of course included in the leasing cost.
  - rapsey 3y ago
    Sorry I do not understand can someone EIL5? The leasing of the vehicle? How are you paying for the depreciation of the battery when you never payed for it in the first place? You buy the car without the battery. To get a battery you sign up for a subscription.
    - Toutouxc 3y ago
      > can someone ELI5? When the battery kicks the bucket, the battery-leasing company has to buy a new one, which costs money. The battery-leasing company makes money from battery subscription. Your subscription must cover the cost of the replacement batteries.
      - rapsey 3y ago
        A swappable battery is a serviceable battery. An EV with a swappable battery also has a very high resell value because the only problematic part is out of the equation. For a new car buyer this system likely has a much better total cost of ownership.
        wkat4242 3y ago
        Depends very much on how much you use it. Is it a 200km every day job? Yeah. 200km per month? Better to just get a builtin battery and take care of it (not keeping it at 100% all the time etc).
        ViewTrick1002 3y ago
        Which is why leasing almost always require you to upfront decide how many miles per month you pay for.
addicted 3y ago
There are economies of scale. There’s the fact that the company can probably service the battery better between swaps extending its life. And finally, there’s the benefit of a minimum level of battery performance even after the warranty expires. However, none of this is the most interesting part for battery tech. Why this might be a much financially better option for customers is if battery tech costs keep reducing rapidly. So instead of paying the cost of 100kw of battery tech in 2023, you will pay something like an average value of the battery tech cost from 2023 to 2027 (and if the industry is growing, like EVs are, it will be a weighted average where the cheaper newer batteries would have higher weight since they would be a larger proportion of the overall stock since more cars will be made in 2027 than 2023). Basically with the condition that battery costs keep dropping, this could be a fantastic deal for customers since they don’t need to buy the batteries at the most expensive price they will ever be going forward.

rapsey 3y ago

You can swap the batteries at any time (at their stations) and it takes minutes. The depreciation is not a factor which is why it is an interesting model.

ViewTrick1002 3y ago
The depreciation is of course included in the leasing cost.
- rapsey 3y ago
  Sorry I do not understand can someone EIL5? The leasing of the vehicle? How are you paying for the depreciation of the battery when you never payed for it in the first place? You buy the car without the battery. To get a battery you sign up for a subscription.
  - Toutouxc 3y ago
    > can someone ELI5? When the battery kicks the bucket, the battery-leasing company has to buy a new one, which costs money. The battery-leasing company makes money from battery subscription. Your subscription must cover the cost of the replacement batteries.
    - rapsey 3y ago
      A swappable battery is a serviceable battery. An EV with a swappable battery also has a very high resell value because the only problematic part is out of the equation. For a new car buyer this system likely has a much better total cost of ownership.
      - wkat4242 3y ago
        Depends very much on how much you use it. Is it a 200km every day job? Yeah. 200km per month? Better to just get a builtin battery and take care of it (not keeping it at 100% all the time etc).
        ViewTrick1002 3y ago
        Which is why leasing almost always require you to upfront decide how many miles per month you pay for.

addicted 3y ago

There are economies of scale. There’s the fact that the company can probably service the battery better between swaps extending its life. And finally, there’s the benefit of a minimum level of battery performance even after the warranty expires. However, none of this is the most interesting part for battery tech. Why this might be a much financially better option for customers is if battery tech costs keep reducing rapidly. So instead of paying the cost of 100kw of battery tech in 2023, you will pay something like an average value of the battery tech cost from 2023 to 2027 (and if the industry is growing, like EVs are, it will be a weighted average where the cheaper newer batteries would have higher weight since they would be a larger proportion of the overall stock since more cars will be made in 2027 than 2023). Basically with the condition that battery costs keep dropping, this could be a fantastic deal for customers since they don’t need to buy the batteries at the most expensive price they will ever be going forward.