As a primary mode of short-distance transportation, electric two-wheelers (hereinafter referred to as "e-two-wheelers") had a stock of over 350 million units in China by 2024. However, traditional charging methods have long been plagued by three key pain points:
Low charging efficiency: Conventional charging takes 4–8 hours, failing to meet the demand for immediate travel.
Range anxiety: A single charge provides a range of only 30–60 km, which cannot support high-frequency usage scenarios such as food delivery and courier services.
Major safety hazards: Fire accidents caused by random wire-based charging and aging batteries account for over 70% of all non-motor vehicle fires.
The e-two-wheeler battery swapping solution realizes "swapping instead of charging" through the combination of standardized batteries + intelligent battery swapping stations + cloud-based management platforms. Users no longer need to wait for charging—they can complete battery replacement at a swapping station in just 10–30 seconds to get a fully charged battery. Meanwhile, unified battery management, charging monitoring, and safety protection solve the safety and efficiency issues of traditional charging. The core components of the solution include three parts:
Standardized batteries: Lithium-ion batteries with unified size, interface, and communication protocols (common capacities: 48V20Ah/60V32Ah). They feature overcharge, over-discharge, and short-circuit protection, and support Beidou/GPS positioning and real-time status reporting.
Intelligent battery swapping stations: Divided into "cabinet-type swapping stations" and "mobile swapping vehicles":
Cabinet-type swapping stations: Covering an area of 1–2 m², they can hold 5–20 batteries and are suitable for deployment in communities, business districts, and stops.
Mobile swapping vehicles: Equipped with 10–15 batteries, they provide on-site swapping services for food delivery stations and remote areas.
Both types support QR code/swipe card access and automatic battery status identification.
Cloud-based management platform: Integrates three core modules—user management (accounts, orders, recharges), battery management (power level, health status, positioning), and swapping station management (operation status, fault alerts, replenishment scheduling)—to achieve full-link digital monitoring.
The evolution of e-two-wheeler energy supply technology has always centered on three core needs: efficiency, safety, and cost, and can be divided into four phases:
The boom of the instant delivery industry: By 2024, there were over 7 million food delivery riders in China, with a daily riding distance of 100–150 km, requiring high-frequency energy replenishment.
Policy-driven safety supervision: Many regions have introduced policies such as "banning random wire-based charging" and "centralized battery management." For example, Shenzhen requires 100% coverage of battery swapping services at food delivery stations by 2025.
Battery technology upgrades: Lithium iron phosphate batteries have replaced ternary lithium batteries, increasing the cycle life from over 500 times to over 1,200 times, thereby reducing the operating costs of battery swapping.
The current e-two-wheeler battery swapping market has formed four core operation modes, each focusing on different user groups:
Operator: Third-party battery swapping enterprises (e.g., Hellobike Battery Swapping, China Tower Battery Swapping, Shanqi Battery Swapping).
Core Logic: Provide services through "battery rental + swapping station network." Users do not need to purchase batteries—they only pay a monthly fee (CNY 300–500/month) or a one-time swapping fee (CNY 2–5/swap).
Advantages: Wide coverage of swapping stations (e.g., Hellobike Battery Swapping has deployed over 200,000 swapping stations in more than 1,000 cities/counties nationwide); high battery standardization; compatibility with most mainstream e-two-wheeler brands.
Typical Scenarios: Food delivery/courier riders, individual commuters.
Operator: E-two-wheeler manufacturers (e.g., Niu Technologies, Yadea, Ninebot).
Core Logic: Launch "vehicle-battery separation" packages (users can choose battery-free models when purchasing a vehicle, reducing the purchase cost by 30%–40%) and provide swapping services through the manufacturers’ own stations.
Advantages: Optimal vehicle-battery compatibility (avoiding incompatibility between third-party batteries and models); integrated after-sales service (users can contact the manufacturer directly for battery faults).
Limitation: Swapping stations only serve users of the manufacturer’s own brand, with poor cross-brand compatibility.
Operator: Government (housing and urban-rural development, transportation departments) + enterprises (battery swapping operators/state-owned enterprises).
Core Logic: The government provides site support (e.g., community parking lots, next to bus stops) and subsidies for construction costs; enterprises are responsible for the operation of swapping stations and provide affordable swapping services to residents.
Typical Case: Hangzhou’s "Livelihood Battery Swapping Project": In 2024, 500 community swapping stations were built, with a one-time swapping fee of CNY 1.5, prioritizing the needs of the elderly and commuters.
Value: Solve the "difficulty in charging" problem in old communities and reduce the risk of community fires.
Operator: Shared mobility platforms (e.g., Meituan Bikes, Qingju Bikes) + battery swapping enterprises.
Core Logic: Open the backup batteries and swapping stations of shared e-two-wheelers to individual users, realizing the sharing of "vehicles-stations-batteries" resources.
Advantages: Utilize the existing station network of shared mobility platforms to reduce the construction cost of swapping stations; individual users can access swapping services nearby.
Scenarios: Urban core business districts, transportation hubs (e.g., swapping stations for shared e-two-wheelers near subway stations, serving both shared vehicles and individual users).
Efficiency Improvement: Battery swapping takes only 10–30 seconds, which is 120–360 times more efficient than fast charging (1–2 hours). Food delivery riders can complete 5–8 more orders per day on average.
Cost Reduction: Under the "rental instead of purchase" model, users do not need to make a one-time investment of CNY 800–1,500 to buy a battery, nor do they bear the replacement cost when the battery ages (operators are responsible for battery maintenance and replacement).
Safety Assurance: Swapping stations adopt constant-temperature charging (25–35°C, avoiding overheating risks), automatic fire suppression devices (e.g., aerosol fire suppression systems), and real-time battery status monitoring (automatic power-off in case of overheating or overvoltage), fundamentally reducing fire hazards.
Extended Battery Lifespan: Unified charging management (avoiding overcharge and over-discharge) extends the battery cycle life from 500 times (for individual use) to over 1,200 times, reducing battery procurement costs.
Optimized Operational Efficiency: The cloud platform can monitor the battery inventory of swapping stations in real time. AI scheduling (e.g., increasing battery supply to delivery stations during peak hours) reduces "empty stations" or "full stations," improving the utilization rate of swapping stations by over 30%.
Diversified Profit Models: In addition to swapping income, operators can expand revenue sources through battery data services (e.g., providing user riding and battery usage data to vehicle manufacturers) and advertising revenue (advertisements on swapping station cabinets).
Safety Governance: Reducing random wire-based charging and in-home charging. In 2024, cities like Shenzhen and Hangzhou (with over 50% battery swapping coverage) saw a year-on-year decrease of over 60% in e-two-wheeler fire accidents.
Resource Recycling: Operators have established battery recycling systems (e.g., 格林美 (GEM) cooperates with battery swapping enterprises to achieve a waste battery recycling rate of over 95%), avoiding environmental pollution caused by random battery disposal.
Low-Carbon Emission Reduction: Swapping stations can be connected to photovoltaic (PV) and energy storage systems (forming an "integrated PV-storage-charging-swapping system"). In 2024, e-two-wheeler battery swapping stations nationwide replaced fuel-powered travel by 1.2 billion km, reducing carbon emissions by approximately 80,000 tons.
Users: Food delivery/courier riders (2–3 energy replenishments per day on average).
Demand Characteristics: High-frequency replenishment, fixed routes (e.g., riders often travel between delivery stations and business districts), cost sensitivity.
Solution Adaptation: Deploy "high-density cabinet-type swapping stations" (1 station per 2 km) at delivery stations and business district entrances/exits, supporting "monthly packages + one-time emergency swaps." Some operators offer "off-peak night swapping prices" (CNY 1.5/swap from 22:00 to 6:00).
Users: Urban commuters (daily riding distance of 10–20 km, 1–2 energy replenishments per week) and the elderly (short-distance travel, focusing on operational convenience).
Demand Characteristics: Nearby swapping, simple operation, transparent pricing.
Solution Adaptation: Deploy "small cabinet-type swapping stations" (supporting QR code/swipe card/face recognition access) at community entrances, near subway stations, and in shopping mall parking lots. Provide "pay-per-swap" (CNY 3/swap) and "quarterly packages" (CNY 180/quarter, unlimited swaps). The elderly can receive remote payment support from their children.
Users: Shared e-two-wheeler operation teams (needing to ensure 24/7 vehicle availability).
Demand Characteristics: Bulk battery swapping, rapid scheduling, controllable battery status.
Solution Adaptation: Build "large-scale swapping stations" (accommodating 50–100 batteries) at shared e-two-wheeler dispatch centers, equipped with "battery handling robots" to realize automatic bulk swapping. The cloud platform synchronizes the battery power of shared vehicles in real time and automatically dispatches low-power vehicles to swapping stations.
Users: Rural residents (travel radius of 5–15 km, insufficient charging facilities).
Demand Characteristics: Wide coverage, low maintenance cost of swapping stations.
Solution Adaptation: Adopt a "combination of fixed swapping stations + mobile swapping vehicles" model. Build fixed swapping stations in town centers, and provide regular on-site swapping services (3–5 times a week) in villages using mobile swapping vehicles (e.g., modified vans), with a one-time swapping fee of CNY 2.
Policy Promotion: China’s national standard GB/T 36972-2024 Replaceable Lithium-Ion Batteries for Electric Two-Wheelers was implemented in October 2024, clarifying unified standards for battery size, interface, and communication protocols. Newly produced e-two-wheelers must be compatible with standardized batteries starting from 2025.
Cross-Brand Interoperability: Leading operators and vehicle manufacturers have established "battery swapping alliances" (e.g., Hellobike, Yadea, and Niu jointly launched the "China E-Two-Wheeler Battery Swapping Alliance") to gradually realize "universal battery swapping" and solve the problem of cross-brand swapping for users.
AI Scheduling Optimization: Use big data on user travel (e.g., commuting peak hours, popular swapping locations) to automatically adjust the battery inventory of swapping stations, predict the risk of "empty stations," and schedule replenishment in advance.
Unattended Upgrades: Swapping stations support "face recognition access + automatic battery detection + remote fault repair," reducing operating costs by over 40%. Some cities are piloting "unmanned swapping vehicles" (autonomous driving) that can provide on-site swapping services based on user reservations.
Integration of Swapping Stations with PV and Energy Storage: During the day, PV power is used to charge batteries; at night, energy is stored using off-peak electricity prices to reduce electricity costs. In extreme weather (e.g., power outages), energy storage systems can supply power to swapping stations to ensure basic swapping services.
Interaction with Power Grids: Swapping stations act as "distributed energy storage units" to participate in grid peak shaving (e.g., discharging to the grid during peak electricity demand), obtaining grid subsidies and increasing profit margins.
Synergy with NEV Battery Swapping: Some enterprises (e.g., Panzhong Technology) are exploring the co-construction of "small swapping stations (for e-two-wheelers) + large swapping stations (for new energy vehicles)" to share sites and power resources.
Value-Added Convenience Services: Swapping stations integrate functions such as "mobile phone charging, emergency lighting, and courier collection" to become "community micro-service stations," enhancing user stickiness.
The stock of e-two-wheelers in regions such as Southeast Asia and Latin America is growing rapidly (exceeding 100 million units in Southeast Asia by 2024), but charging facilities are insufficient. Chinese battery swapping enterprises (e.g., Hellobike, China Tower) have begun to expand into overseas markets, exporting "standardized batteries + swapping stations" solutions and adapting to local e-two-wheeler models and power grid standards.
A1: First, you need to confirm whether the battery interface of your vehicle complies with the national standard GB/T 36972-2024. If not, you can contact the vehicle manufacturer or battery swapping operator to install an "interface adapter" (cost: approximately CNY 50–100). Some old models (e.g., those with excessively small battery compartments) may not be adaptable. It is recommended to replace them with compatible models through the "trade-in" program (some operators offer old vehicle discounts + new vehicle subsidies).
A2: No. For example, the batteries used in Panzhong Technology’s swapping cabinets have passed three layers of protection: ① CCC certification (with overcharge, over-discharge, and short-circuit protection); ② Real-time monitoring of battery health (SOH) by the cloud platform—batteries with SOH below 80% are automatically taken offline for maintenance or scrapped; ③ Regular inspections of swapping stations (once a week) to check for battery surface damage and loose interfaces.
A3: It is more cost-effective for long-term use. Taking a daily riding distance of 20 km as an example: ① Self-charging cost: A 48V20Ah battery consumes approximately 1 kWh of electricity. With a residential electricity price of CNY 0.5/kWh, the daily cost is CNY 0.5. ② Battery swapping cost: If you choose a monthly package (CNY 300/month), the daily cost is CNY 10, which seems higher. However, you need to consider the hidden costs of self-charging (e.g., battery replacement cost of CNY 800 every 1.5 years, approximately CNY 533 per year). Calculated comprehensively, the annual cost of battery swapping is CNY 3,600, while that of self-charging is approximately CNY 715 (0.5×365 + 533). However, the time cost saved by battery swapping (especially for riders) is far higher than the cost difference.
A4: Two solutions are available: ① "Mobile swapping services": Some operators provide on-site swapping in remote areas, with an additional service fee of CNY 5–10 per swap. ② Participate in the government-enterprise "rural battery swapping project": The government prioritizes the deployment of swapping cabinets in remote towns. You can consult the local housing and urban-rural development department for the construction progress.
A5: On the contrary, it will extend the lifespan. Individual charging often involves problems such as "overcharging" (e.g., charging overnight) and "low-temperature charging" (e.g., charging outdoors in winter), which accelerate battery aging. Swapping stations use an "intelligent charging curve": ① Fast charging is used until the battery reaches 80% capacity, then slow charging is switched to avoid overcharging; ② Charging is carried out in a constant-temperature environment (25–35°C), avoiding battery damage caused by low or high temperatures. This extends the battery cycle life from 500 times (for individual use) to over 1,200 times.
