India EV Battery Swapping Market to Generate Revenue Worth $61.57 Million by 2030

The Indian EV battery swapping market is predicted to reach $61.57 million by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 25.20% between 2022 and 2030. This growth can be majorly attributed to the increasing demand for electric vehicles and the surging focus on reducing the time for charging. Moreover, this is due to the rapid development of shared e-mobility and the introduction of new and enhanced battery-swapping models and services by major industry players.

Increasing Popularity Across Three-Wheelers

The three-wheeler category is estimated to have held a significant revenue share, of around 90%, in 2022. This is because three-wheelers are an important application of battery-switching technology. India boasts the most three-wheelers per capita across the globe, and the industry is projected to rise significantly over the next few years. The majority of uses for electric three-wheelers are commercial, with 99% being used for transporting passengers and 1% for carrying loads. This passenger electric vehicle typically operates between 12 and 15 hours each day. The average daily commute for this vehicle is above 100 km, while its available range is 50–70 km.

Therefore, the vehicle requires to get charged during operational hours, and it takes around 6–8 hours to fully charge a depleted battery. Charging an EV battery during operational hours is a major challenge for drivers because the time they invest in charging the batteries for their electric three-wheelers results in a loss to their business. Thus, battery swapping is the optimum solution for the drivers since it takes just around 5 minutes to replace a depleted battery with a fully charged one.

Furthermore, electric three-wheelers account for the maximum share of electric vehicle sales in the country. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the number of electric three-wheelers on road was 3.28 million in India, as of 2021. This further proliferates the deployment of battery-swapping technology in these vehicles. Several players, such as SUN Mobility Pvt. Ltd., Lithion Power Pvt. Ltd., and Ola Electric Mobility Pvt. Ltd., have installed battery-swapping stations for three-wheelers. For instance, in November 2019, Ola Electric Mobility Pvt. Ltd. debuted a battery swapping station in Gurgaon, with 14 operational charging units supporting three-wheeler battery swapping.

Surging Demand for Li-Ion Battery-Based Electric Rickshaws

In India, the majority of electric rickshaws still use sealed lead acid (SLA) batteries. This is because SLA batteries have substantially lower startup costs than Li-ion batteries. However, major electric rickshaw producers are increasingly concentrating on Li-ion batteries as a power source for electric rickshaws since SLA batteries can represent a substantial hazard to human health and the environment at large if improperly disposed of.

Li-ion batteries, on the other hand, provide comparatively high energy densities, weight-to-energy ratios, and power-to-weight ratios, and also have a very minimal hazard to human health and the environment. These batteries are lighter and smaller and are more reliable and durable. These factors decrease the overall weight of vehicles and advance their performance. Therefore, original equipment manufacturers are increasingly focusing on the use of Li-ion batteries, as an alternative to SLA batteries, which is resulting in the increased demand for Li-ion-based electric rickshaws. This, in turn, is creating ample opportunities for market players, as battery swapping operators are primarily focusing to offer Li-ion battery swapping stations.

Some major players operating in the India EV battery swapping market include Sun Mobility Pvt. Ltd., Lithion Power Pvt. Ltd., Ola Electric Mobility Pvt. Ltd., Exicom Tele-Systems Ltd., Twenty Two Motors Pvt. Ltd., Panasonic India Pvt. Ltd., Amplify Mobility, EChargeUp Solutions Pvt. Ltd., Esmito Solutions Pvt Ltd., and ChargeMyGaadi.